Vanguard Burst
by DivideMyth
Summary: While returning home from a training session, Shu meets a blue haired boy outside his apartment building. The boy was alone and had nowhere to go, Shu decides to keep the boy with him and take care of him. Little does he know, the boy that he found that fateful day is more special than he knows and possesses great mysterious power that others want to take advantage of.
1. The Meeting

**Hey guys and... Happy birthday to LunaSoraYamiMoonlightCrystal!**

 **I have a new story for you all. It's a little different from the stories I usually write, but it was really fun to write! I'm still currently writing this story and on chapter 7. I hope you all enjoy this story and wish LunaSoraYamiMoonlightCrystal a happy birthday!**

 **Now, time to begin chapter 1 for Vanguard Burst!**

* * *

Valt won his match against Rantarou in the regional tournament and was hyped about the battle win. He believed that he could defeat anyone. After the first day of the tournament, Shu was doing his special training in the park as always.

" _Valt did well today… I should step up my game."_ Shu thought as he launched his Beyblade again. He felt something and turned to see a boy a lot younger than him walking on the sidewalk. He had blue hair, he looked at Shu for a while before continuing to walk cautiously down the sidewalk.

"That was strange." Shu thought to himself. He launched again and again until it was getting really late. He decided to walk back home.

When he did, he once again saw the boy sitting outside of his apartment building. He looked asleep. "Hey! Wake up! You shouldn't be sleeping on the streets." Shu called. He shook the boy and he slowly woke up.

"Huh? Who are you?" The boy asked.

Shu noticed the launcher and Beyblade holder on the belt he was wearing. " _He lives in this area and never heard of me?"_ Shu thought. "Nevermind that, you should go home."

"Go home...?" The boy responded nervously.

At that point, Shu knew that something was wrong. "Do you have a home or family?" Shu asked.

"I don't… I don't remember." The boy answered shyly.

" _Amnesia?"_ Shu thought.

"Come on, you can stay with me today. It is safer than sleeping out here." Shu suggested. He helped the boy up from the floor.

"Are you sure this is okay?" The boy asked shyly.

Shu smiled. "It is not a problem." He answered. He walked behind the boy while heading inside the apartment building and up to his apartment. It was bigger than Aichi expected.

"Do you live here alone?" The boy asked looking uncomfortable standing near the doorway.

"My parents are usually away because of work, so I often live here alone. Sit down, make yourself at home." Shu answered. He pulled out a seat on the kitchen table and Aichi walked over and sat on it.

"Um… Thank you," the boy thanked.

"It's not a problem. Do you remember what's your name?" Shu asked.

The boy thought. "Aichi," he answered.

"Aichi… Well, my name is Shu Kurenai. We should find your parents as soon as possible, but for now. I can ask my parents to have you go to my school, Beigoma Academy." Shu responded.

"Go to school?" Aichi asked.

"Yeah, you're around the same age as my friend's brother and sister, so you should go to school," Shu answered.

"I'm sorry, for causing you so much trouble." Aichi apologized.

"It is really fine. You know, we should have a BeyBattle sometime." Shu responded.

"BeyBattle?" Aichi asked.

"Yeah, I noticed that you had a launcher with you," Shu replied. Aichi looked down at his belt.

"This?" Aichi asked.

"Anyways, you should wash up. I'll let you wear some of my old clothes for now. I'll start making something to eat." Shu said. Aichi nodded. He took off the belt with his Beyblade things and left it on the table in front of the couch. "Get a towel from the closet in front of the bathroom, I'll leave some clothes outside when I'm done preparing the food."

"Thanks again. You seemed really interested in Beyblade, you can look at the one I have if you want." Aichi responded.

"I will, thanks," Shu answered. He already began pulling out food from the refrigerator after washing his hands. He quickly made spaghetti for the both of them and went to get the clothes for Aichi. "Aichi, I'm leaving the clothes outside."

"Okay," Aichi answered from inside.

Shu sat on the couch and took Aichi's belt in his hand. The launcher looked normal, but his Beyblade was something new. " _I've never seen this Beyblade before."_ Shu thought. It was white with blue linings, but he felt something up with the Beyblade.

Aichi walked out of the bathroom and put on the clothes Shu left for him. He was carrying his dirty clothes in his hands. "You can just put those aside for now. I finished making food for us." Shu informed.

Aichi left his clothes on the table in front of the couch and sat on a chair on the dinner table. "Thank you for the food." Aichi thanked as he started eating.

"Can I ask you where you got your Beyblade? Or do you not remember that much?" Shu asked.

"Um… I remember, but I'm just not sure why or how. The best way to put it is, Blaster Blade came to me like he chose me to be with him." Aichi explained.

"I see. That gives a real meaning to Beyblades choosing their Blader." Shu answered.

"But it was strange, I felt like I've met Blaster Blade before," Aichi informed.

"So the Beyblade's name is Blaster Blade? I never heard of it before." Shu responded. He looked at Blaster Blade closely and found something attached to the side of the Beyblade. "What's this?"

"I think I hear Blaster Blade's voice in my dreams talking to me, but that's probably impossible," Aichi said.

Shu looked at Blaster Blade closely and found something attached to the side of the Beyblade. "What's this?" He pulled it out and it was a chip, like a tracker chip. "This looks like…" Shu said.

Aichi looked confused, that was when they heard a knock on the door. "Who can that be? It's really late at night already." Shu asked himself. He walked to the door. Aichi followed and shivered as he got close.

"Shu. Don't open it." Aichi cried as quietly as he can as he curled up on the floor against the wall.

"What's wrong?" Shu asked whispering. He went to comfort Aichi who was on the floor when another knock hit the door. "It doesn't seem like they're going to leave. Go hide in my bedroom, alright?" Shu handed Aichi his Beyblade back and kept the tracker with him.

Aichi nodded before slowly getting up and doing as Shu told him to. Shu opened the door, it was an older boy with white hair. "Hello, sorry to intrude, but it seems there is a boy here that I must retrieve," the white haired boy said in a boring tone.

"And who are you exactly?" Shu asked.

"I'm not really interested in speaking with you. I just need to take a blue haired boy named Aichi Sendou with me," The boy answered. He held up a tablet with a blinking blue dot at his location.

"I won't let you take him," Shu responded. He pulled out his launcher and Beyblade.

"So you're a Blader? Now that I look at you closely, you resemble Shu Kurenai. Listen, kid, this doesn't concern a little boy like you. So get out of my way!" The boy demanded pulling out his Beyblade and launcher.

"Then let's settle this with a match, how about that?" Shu asked. Aichi was at the corner watching.

"Sure, I accept your challenge." The white haired boy answered. "But he is coming with us to watch this match and once I win..." The boy had a large smirk on his face.

Shu turned to Aichi. "Come Aichi. I promise that I'll win." He promised. Aichi slowly walked to Shu's side. He held his launcher and Beyblade close to him making sure to stick closely to Shu.

Aichi looked at the white haired boy's Beyblade and shivered after seeing the darkness hidden inside. "Shu, be careful," Aichi warned.

"Don't worry, we'll both be just fine," Shu responded. They went to the apartment building's Beyblade room. There were a few Beyblade stadiums where people can battle each other. Luckily, there was no one there because it was really late.

Shu took his stance, the boy also did. Aichi just watched nervously. "Aichi, I'll make short work of him. He doesn't have the strength to rival this special Beyblade, unlike you and your Blaster Blade." The boy said.

"Spryzen. We can do this." Shu said.

"3"

"2"

"1"

"Let it rip!"

Spryzen occupied the center first. Shu looked at the boy's Beyblade's speed and it was quicker than any other Beyblade he had ever seen. "Infinite Zero, send that pathetic blade to another dimension!"

Infinite Zero attacked and knocked Spryzen out of the stadium. Shu watched with wide eyes. "What?" He ran to Spryzen and picked it up. Because of the strong impact, Spryzen made cracks on the wall.

"Too bad, it didn't burst. It must be stronger than I've expected." The boy commented. "One more launch and he will be done for." He laughed.

The boy pulled out a collar. "You won't be running away from us this time, Aichi." The boy laughed spinning the collar between his finger. Aichi ran to Shu and Spryzen.

"Shu!" Aichi cried. Shu turned to him with Spryzen heavily damaged in his hands. "Shu, Blaster Blade can help. He told me." Aichi held out Blaster Blade and closed his eyes. His aura accelerated as he reached out for Spryzen and Shu's hand.

"Wait! Aichi! Don't you dare!" The boy shouted sending a dark aura over. But it was already too late, Shu had a strong blue and red aura and Spryzen was red and blue as well. Aichi fell over onto Shu unconscious and Blaster Blade seemed to have lost all of his colour.

"He chose you?!" The boy exclaimed. Shu looked at his hands seeing the blue and red aura surrounding him before placing Aichi down on the side.

"Spryzen, let's do this!" Shu said.

"It doesn't matter if he chose you! I will still defeat you even if you have his power." The boy shouted.

They got ready once more.

"3"

"2"

"1"

"Let it rip!"

Spryzen's speed was much quicker than before, enough to rival Infinite Zero's. "Go, Spryzen!"

"Infinite Zero, destroy him once more!" Infinite Zero went on the attack. Infinite Zero pushed Spyzen back, opening the window for an attack.

"Spryzen, use your Counter Break!" In the end of the clashing, Spryzen burst Infinite Zero.

"No! That's not possible!" The boy shouted. He disappeared with his Beyblade. Spryzen returned to Shu as everything changed back to normal.

"What happened?" Shu asked. He quickly went to Aichi's side. Blaster Blade was once again blue and Aichi started to wake up.

"Are you alright?" Shu asked. Aichi nodded.

"I listened to everything Blaster Blade told me. Focus on your inner power and transfer it over to Shu. He is our last hope." Aichi answered.

"Thank you for helping me out. He was too much for me to handle. Anyways, do you know that guy?" Shu asked.

"I don't know much about him, but he's been trying to capture me for a while now. He always knew where I was at any given moment. I heard his name once, I think it was Takuto…" Aichi answered.

"I see…" Shu responded. He looked at the clock. "Come on, it's getting really late. We should sleep."

Aichi nodded and followed him back to his apartment. When they got there, Shu took the tracker chip and broke it. "You should be alright for now. But if you stay here, they might come here to get you again. I have a friend that will let you stay with him. I already broke the tracker they put on you, so that can't track where you are anymore." Shu said.

"But if I leave, you might get into trouble," Aichi responded. "You had trouble defeating Takuto, who knows what would happen to you if you're alone."

"You don't need to worry about that, as long as you're safe I'll be fine," Shu answered.

"Don't say things like that. You helped me, so I'm going to help you. I don't want to be the one protected anymore." Aichi replied. Shu patted Aichi's head.

"Fine, you can stay here. But no heroics alright?" Shu asked. Aichi nodded cheerfully. It was the first time he'd seen Aichi smile. "You can take my bed tonight. I'll call my parents and sleep afterward, you should head on first."

Aichi walked to Shu's bedroom and laid on the bed. He held his Beyblade in his head as he drifted to sleep. Shu called his dad. "Shu, is something the matter? You never call much less call this late." His father asked.

"I met this boy today, he had nowhere to go, so I told him he could stay here until he finds his parents. I want you to try to help him find his parents, he can't remember anything because he has amnesia." Shu explained. "There are also some people after him, so that had me concerned." His dad knew that he was really concerned after hearing the tone of his voice.

"Well, he can't be alone while you're at school. It is best to have him enroll in your school for the time being and I'll take care of trying to find his parents." His father responded.

"Alright, thank you. Oh, dad. I'm doing well on my own, so you don't have to worry." Shu assured.

"I know, Shu. Thank you for always understanding why your mother and I always need to be outside." His father responded.

"I understand alright. With Aichi here, I'm not living alone anymore," Shu said.

"Sorry, Shu. I have to take an urgent phone call." His dad bye, Shu. Sleep well." The call ended and Shu went inside his room to make sure Aichi was asleep, he quietly got his pajamas and took a shower, before doing laundry and sleeping on the couch.

"It's okay, it's nice to talk to you. Bye," Shu bye, Shu. Sleep well." The call ended and Shu went inside his room to make sure Aichi was asleep, he quietly got his pajamas and took a shower, before doing laundry and sleeping on the couch.

"Good bye, Shu. Sleep well." The call ended and Shu went inside his room to make sure Aichi was asleep. Aichi was sleeping soundly, Shu quietly got his pajamas and took a shower, before doing laundry and sleeping on the couch.

* * *

The next morning, Shu woke up to his alarm clock. He got up and changed before heading out for a morning run. When he got back he walked into his bedroom to wake up Aichi. "Aichi, wake up. We need to go to school." Shu said. Aichi was still fast asleep with his Beyblade tightly in hand.

"Blaster Blade… My avatar…" Aichi muttered in his sleep. Shu shook him awake.

"Aichi." Aichi's eyes slowly opened up. "Good, you're awake. I'll start making breakfast. I washed your clothes for you last night. They should be dry by now, so you can wear them to school."

"Thank you again, Shu. You are really kind." Aichi thanked. "But why are you so nice to someone you don't know?"

"You were in trouble, so I felt that I had to help you," Shu answered.

"I understand, you really are really kind, Shu," Aichi replied with a smile. Shu was finishing cooking omelets for them to eat as Aichi sat on the table.

They ate and walked to school together. "I'll get you to the principal's office, they'll handle placing you in a class," Shu said.

"Okay…" Aichi responded. Shu walked with Aichi to the principal's knocked on the door.

"Come in," the principal inside said. Aichi held the long strap of his bag. He was wearing his belt with his launcher and Beyblade. "So this is the boy your parents spoke of. He is a young one and he doesn't remember his age either am I right?"

"No, he doesn't remember anything," Shu answered. Aichi shuffled a little looking like he wanted to say something.

"Um… I want to be in the same class as Shu." Aichi said.

"You can't Aichi, you probably don't know anything we are learning about," Shu replied.

"I can. I might be…" Aichi responded.

"I'll assemble a test to see if you can join the grade 6 classes. Depending on your score, I will assign you a class from there." The principal said. Aichi's expression lightened up. "Shu, you can get to class, I'll handle him from here."

Shu nodded before leaving. Aichi sat on one of the chairs on the side of the room. The principal took out a sheet of paper from his desk and started writing down some questions.

The bell rang, Shu was sitting at his desk with Valt nowhere in sight. " _Valt is late again…"_ Shu thought. 20 minutes into class, the class heard a bang, like something fell from outside.

"Ow…" Everyone looked outside to see Valt getting up from Aichi. "Sorry about that, kid. Are you lost because this is the grade 6 class."

"Hey, Valt. I see you're late again." The teacher said angrily. Shu helped Aichi up, he was holding a note.

"This is for the teacher from the principal," Aichi said. He handed it to the teacher and he read it.

 _This boy will be joining your class, his name is Aichi. He has exponential academic talent and can easily do all questions at the grade 6 level. Please welcome him to your class."_

"Alright, everyone get inside the classroom and in your seats." The teacher ordered. Everybody went inside, Aichi stood in front of the class. "It seems a new student will be joining us. His name is Aichi Sendou."

"It is nice to meet you all." Aichi greeted shyly. He looked a lot younger than everyone in the class, so he was pretty intimidated.

"Your seat will be at the back beside Shu." The teacher said pointing at his seat. Aichi nodded before making his way to his seat. The lesson continued.

"Does anyone want to come up to the board and answer these questions?" The teacher asked. Shu raised his hand. "Shu and… How about you Aichi?"

Aichi and Shu got up from their seats and wrote answers on the board. For some reason, Aichi's answer looked more complex than Shu's. "C-correct. Good job." The teacher said.

At the end of class, Aichi was given a package filled with everything that was learned prior to when he arrived. Valt immediately noticed Aichi's launcher at the corner of his eye. "You're a Blader!" Valt exclaimed.

"Huh?" Aichi responded confused. He reached for his Beyblade pouch found that nothing was there. "Huh? Where's Blaster Blade?" He muttered to himself.

"Let's battle! I mean I'm the best, I can do a Rush launch and-" Valt bragged, but Aichi ran out the door before he can finish.

Shu also left, he tried to act calm, but he knew that something was wrong. "Aichi, what's wrong?" Shu asked after seeing Aichi looking around.

"Blaster Blade is missing, I must've dropped him somewhere," Aichi answered. He felt a sensation and looked out the window to see a mysterious man looking at him holding a blue Beyblade. "Is that?"

Shu also took a look. "That's it! It's Blaster Blade, I sense it." Aichi confirmed he ran to the exit.

"Wait!" Shu shouted. He followed. When they got to the place where they saw the man, he was gone.

"Over there!" Aichi cried pointing at the other side of the gate. He wanted to run there, but Shu pulled his arm.

"We can't leave school property until the end of class, Aichi. We'll go after him later okay?" Shu said.

Aichi looked down. "But… I need to save my partner!" He responded.

He ran past the gate, the gatekeeper saw him and ran after him shouting, "Hey! Kid!"

"Aichi!" Shu called as he followed too. The gatekeeper looked around.

"That kid just disappeared." The gatekeeper said. "You! Get back inside the school right now."

" _Shu!"_ It was Aichi's voice. " _Help!"_

Shu looked around and spotted Aichi's aura in a car. "Over there!" The car started driving. Shu took note of the license plate on the back.

Meanwhile, inside the car, Aichi was struggling against the people holding him down. "Let me go!" Aichi demanded. There was a screen in the car, it was split from Takuto and a black screen.

"Void, we've successfully captured Aichi Sendou. I don't believe Takuto wasn't able to capture him, how pathetic." The man driving the car informed.

"Little Aichi is much easier to handle than older Aichi." The other one said.

"Shu! Help me! Shu!" Aichi cried.

"Kai, shut his mouth please," Takuto ordered. The main man holding Aichi down covered his mouth.

"Shu!" Aichi cried but was muffled.

"Who is this, Shu?" Void asked. Takuto sounded nervous. "Link Joker explain yourself!"

"Well… While I was trying to capture him yesterday, I had to battle with this boy that was with him. And I wasn't able to stop him from giving his power to that boy." Takuto explained nervously.

"And you didn't bother to mention that important detail in your report?" Void asked.

"Place the collar on him before he gets away again, Kamui," Kai ordered the boy on the other side of Aichi.

"Haha, it's funny of you to mention that," Kamui responded.

"You forgot it, didn't you?" Takuto asked.

"As long as we keep an eye on him and Blaster Blade, everything is fine," Kamui said. He placed Aichi's belt on the front passenger seat.

"How are you planning on resolving the problem with his connection with this Shu boy? With his connection still there, I won't be able to use his power for myself." Void asked.

"Only defeating him while he is using Aichi's power will it break the connection, but we can always just dispose of him," Takuto suggested. Aichi's eyes widened as his struggling paused.

"Aichi can just break the connection with his own will," Kai said. Their conversation was cut short when the police stopped their car.

"Please step out of the car and release the boy." The police officer demanded. They complied with the police, the call in the car closed before the officer can find anything. Shu was inside the police car.

"Shu!" Aichi called as Shu stepped out of the police car along with a second officer. He turned back and wanted to go back inside to get his belt. The police retrieved Blaster Blade from inside the car. Aichi walked away from Kai, Kamui, and the driver cautiously and ran to Shu, Aichi hugged him tightly. "Shu!"

Shu patted Aichi's head. "It's alright, you're safe now," Shu assured.

"So that is the boy Aichi chose," Kai muttered. "We're retreating for now. Let's go."

"Right, fine…" Kamui replied. They all disappeared into red mist before the police can take them away.

"What just happened?!" The officer that was watching Kai and the others exclaimed.

They tried to remain positive. "Shu Kurenai, we will further look into this. For now, we can take to boy off your hands. We'll take his care into our hands and find him a safe place to stay." The officer suggested.

"No, it's fine. He can stay with me, I really don't mind." Shu said.

"Okay, call when you feel something is wrong. We'll head to you immediately." The officer said.

Shu smiled and looked at Aichi. "Let's get you back to school."

Aichi nodded before getting into the car with Shu. "Aichi, what did they do to you?" Shu asked.

"I'm not really sure. There was this screen in the car, Takuto was on one side and the other was just black. They talked about how I connected my powers with you and that… they will defeat you while you are using my powers or… They will 'dispose of you'." Aichi answered. "They also said that I can break the connection with you then they won't be after you and you'd be safe."

"You don't need to worry about me, Aichi," Shu assured.

"Really?" Aichi responded. Shu nodded. They soon got to the school and got out of the car.

"How about you stay with me while I'm doing my training?" Shu asked. Aichi nodded cheerfully. They went together to the roof after taking a quick stop at their classroom to get Shu's bag.

"Shu, why did you bring your bag?" Aichi asked.

"I packed food for lunch. I made enough for the both of us, so while I'm practicing here you can eat." Shu answered.

"How about you?" Aichi asked.

"Actually, I was thinking that you should learn how to battle too, in case I'm not there to help you for any reason," Shu answered.

"But I never played before," Aichi responded.

"I'll teach you the basics, then you can learn on your own from there," Shu replied. Aichi nodded cheerfully holding onto his Beyblade tightly. "You should start eating first, when you're done we can switch."

"Right!" Aichi said as he took out a food container from Shu's bag. There were two in the bag. "Thank you for the food."

Shu nodded before starting to shoot his Beyblade. Aichi ate while watching Shu practice. Once Aichi finished eating he got up to his feet with his launcher and Beyblade in hand. "Shu, I'm done."

"Good, then how about we switch?" Shu responded picking up his Beyblade. Aichi tried to put Blaster Blade onto his launcher, but he was having a hard time.

Shu walked to him before sitting down to show Aichi how to do it. "So just place your Beyblade like this, and lock it in like this," Shu explained while showing Aichi. Aichi watched carefully and nodded. Shu took it off so that Aichi can try himself.

"So like this?" Aichi said as he locked on his Beyblade.

"Right, just like that. Usually, you hold your launcher with your non-dominant hand and pull the launcher with your dominant hand." Shu explained. Aichi held the launcher with his left hand and held the trigger with his right. "Since you don't have an opponent at the moment, you can just launch whenever you're ready."

Aichi knelt down and shot his Beyblade. At first, it was really slow, but it rapidly sped up afterward. "Wow! That wasn't that bad for your first time. But it looks like your Beyblade sped up on its own." Shu commented he was finishing up eating. He put his container away in his bag before getting up and picking Blaster Blade up.

"Do you mind if I try shooting with your Beyblade? I want to see something." Shu asked.

"Okay," Aichi replied. Shu took his launcher and went on his stance, he shot and Blaster Blade was spinning incredibly fast. "Wow!" Aichi watched amazed.

"Just as I thought, it can go really fast," Shu commented, he picked up Blaster Blade and handed it to Aichi. "You will have to try out some stances that works for you, and to bring out your Beyblade's full strength you'll have to develope some arm strength too."

"Alright, I'll practice. But Shu, can I just watch you for now?" Aichi asked.

"Sure," Shu answered.

It was starting to reach the time where lunch ends and Shu started packing up. "Shu, I'll take your bag back," Aichi said as he lifted up Shu's bag.

"I just need to put this stadium back, you go to class first," Shu replied.

"Okay," Aichi answered walking inside the building. He was approaching the classroom when he suddenly heard footsteps like someone was running. Aichi turned around and Valt crashed into Aichi once again.

"Owww. Not again." Valt cried. He got up and saw that Aichi was below him. "Sorry about that again."

"I'm alright," Aichi replied.

"Hey, you're the new kid!" Valt exclaimed then he noticed Shu's bag. "Wait, why do you have Shu's bag."

"Um… Shu told me to…" Aichi muttered.

"Are you stealing?!" Valt shouted.

Aichi looked really nervous. "No, I'm not," Aichi muttered again, he looked like he was going to burst into tears any moment.

"Hey, Valt. What's the matter? You shouted so loud." Shu asked as he walked to Valt.

"The new kid is trying to steal your bag," Valt replied.

"No, he's bringing it to the classroom for me," Shu answered with a smile. He saw that Aichi was about to cry. Shu patted his head. "It's alright. Don't be scared, Valt really isn't a scary guy."

"Wait, do you know him?" Valt asked.

"Yea, he's staying with me for now, until he remembers everything," Shu answered.

"Remembers?" Valt responded.

"He has amnesia," Shu said.

"Amn… What?" Valt asked.

"Amnesia, a condition that makes you forget your past memories," Shu explained, he helped Aichi up and took his bag from Aichi.

"Wow! He can come over to my house and have some of my mom's amazing bread and some BeyBattles! I mean I'm one of the best players around you know, with my Rush Launch." Valt suggested. Aichi just hid behind Shu.

"I guess, you are right. Maybe he should hang out with other people." Shu replied.

"Yeah! And you also agree that I'm one of the strongest Bladers around right?" Valt asked.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Valt." Shu responded. Aichi looked at the clock in the hallway and tugged on Shu's shirt. "Right, we should get inside the classroom."

* * *

 **~After Class~**

Shu wanted to do some more training before leaving school. Aichi was on the side reading the textbooks the teacher gave him to catch up on. He was reading about Beyblades.

Two hours later, they heard Valt and Kiyama arguing near the entrance to the roof. "Could you guys be quiet?!" Shu shouted as he tried to concentrate. Aichi continued to read the material as Valt and Kiyama looked through the corner.

"It's Shu," Valt said as he ran out. "I'm crossing over to the winner's side." He hit Shu's shoulder and found that he was all sweaty.

"Ew! Why are you so wet?" Valt asked.

"I've been practicing," Shu answered.

"How long have you been at this?" Kiyama asked.

"I don't know, 2 hours?" Shu guessed.

"2 hours?! I can't even practice for more than a minute! Right! I need to practice!" Valt said.

"I'm not telling him that it isn't going to work out." One of the twins commented. Aichi felt something and turned at the entrance gate to see people with dark auras waiting outside.

"Shu…" Aichi whispered. Shu took a glance to Aichi who turned to the entrance gate, he knew what that meant.

"But I beat Hiyama with my Rush Launch with this launch, I'm unstoppable." Valt bragged. Aichi packed his stuff and carried Shu's bag with him. Shu was also making his way to the entrance.

"You're already leaving, Shu?" Nika asked.

"I think I can even beat you, Shu!" Valt added. Aichi made it to Shu's side.

"Someone so confident after one win won't make it far," Shu responded. He left with Aichi.

"What?! You are supposed to be on my side!" Valt shouted. Shu and Aichi heard it from inside.

"That loud mouth," Shu commented.

"Is it really alright for you to leave things like that?" Aichi asked.

"It's just fine, don't worry about it," Shu answered with a smile taking his bag from Aichi. They walked through the hallways. "So they are back, huh? They don't stop."

"Shu, are you alright with this? You will always have to battle them with no end." Aichi asked.

"Yes, I am. Because you need help, so I will provide it." Shu answered.

"Thank you, Shu, for everything." Aichi thanked.

Shu smiled and ruffled up Aichi's hair. "It's fine. Now, stop thanking me for everything." He responded. They reached the entrance to see Kai and Kamui waiting there.

"There you are, Aichi." Kamui said. Aichi stood behind Shu.

"We meet at last, Shu Kurenai. We didn't get an introduction last time," Kai said.

Shu looked with serious eyes. "Who are you and why are you trying to capture him?" Shu asked.

"Oh, so scary." Kamui joked.

"I'm afraid that you will have to find that fact on your own." The blond haired boy answered he turned to Aichi. "Aichi, be a good boy and cut your connection with Shu Kurenai and come with us."

"I won't." Aichi declined.

"We aren't going to give you much of a choice." Kamui said as Kai reached in to take hold of Aichi's arm. Shu held his hand out to block his way.

"If you want him, you would have to beat me in a BeyBattle first. I assume you have a Beyblade." Shu challenged.

"You're on!" Kamui accepted.

"I'm afraid you'll have to beat both of us in a 1-on-1 match each." Kai said.

"Can't it be a 2-on-2? Aichi is here and able to use his power on Shu, am I right?" Kamui asked.

"You'll decide the match up, but as long as I'm undefeated, I will not allow you to take him." Shu answered. He looked at them and noted that Kamui was probably in middle school and Kai was in high school.

"Great, then it's decided. A two on 'two'." Kamui said.

"We have a stadium set up, come with us." Kai said. They left to the battle stadium through the car that Kamui and Kai had.


	2. The Truth

They reached a large building reading, the 'Tatsunagi Corporation' on a sign in front of the entrance of the building. Aichi stayed close to Shu as they walked inside the building and into an elevator that went to the highest floor. When the doors opened, they found themselves in a room with glass walls, there were books behind the glass leaving a plenty of room for a stadium which was situated at the of the room.

"Shu..." Aichi said nervously.

"Trust me, Aichi," Shu replied. Aichi nodded and took Shu's hands. His aura intensified giving Shu his power. Aichi once again fainted after the procedure. Shu sat him safely on the wall to the side before walking to the battlefield.

"How about I explain the stacks of losing this battle and the rules?" Takuto asked as he walked into the room.

"This will be a two on one match. If you were to defeat both Kai and Kamui with 3 points, you'll win. There will be three points, so you need an Over Finish and a Burst on the first try, or risk a second round. But if they reach 3 points then you'll lose and the connection with you and Sendou will break making you good to leave. But unfortunately for you, Sendou will be staying here and my master will use him as he wishes." Takuto explained.

"That sounds fair." Shu agreed.

"The trick for this power is that it is only useable if you 'win', so if your Beyblade were to be unable to continue fighting, the connection will break and you won't be able to use it for your next round. Basically, if your Beyblade stops spinning you're guaranteed to lose," Takuto explained with a bored tone.

"So I can't let Spriggan stop spinning, is that it?" Shu asked.

"Precisely," Takuto answered. "I'll warn you that your opponents are the best. It is best if you prepare yourself for the worst."

"Enough chat. Let's begin." Kai said.

They all got their launchers ready.

"3"

"2"

"1"

"Let it rip!" Spryzen quickly occupied the center. The two Beyblades were unknown to Shu.

"Meet my Ethics Buster," Kamui said as he went in for an attack.

"Don't get cocky," Kai warned. His Beyblade was spinning around the stadium. Ethics Buster collided with Spryzen, causing Spryzen to get knocked back going Shu the chance to use his special attack.

"Counter Break!" Shu declared as Spryzen burst Ethics Buster.

"Why you! Jerk! You're supposed to help me you know." Kamui shouted.

"Like I would," Kai responded. "You should've known about Shu Kurenai and the way he battles ahead of time. It was obvious that he would use the Counter Break after being attacked."

Takuto gritted his teeth in anger after witnessing such terrible teamwork. "Kai, you better be capable of beating this pest," Takuto said.

"I'll deal with him just fine," Kai responded. "Go, Dragonic Overlord! Burn his world to ash!" Dragonic Overlord flared and began attacking. They clashed together and both were beginning to slow down.

"Burn! With your Eternal Flame!" Kai declared as Dragonic Overlord's spin began to spin quicker. "Attack once more!"

"No! I won't let you defeat me!" Shu shouted. Inside his eye, a glow burned brightly.

" _Use my full strength, Shu Kurenai. It is time to use the Counter Break."_ A voice said. Shu's eyes widened after hearing.

"Spprigan? Alright! Use your Counter Break, Spriggan!" Shu said. A blue aura appeared alongside Spryzen's red aura.

"Spryzen is making Blaster Blade's energy his own...!" Kai said.

"Go Spriggan!" Dragonic Overlord was knocked out of the stadium.

Shu changed back to normal and fell to his knees panting, he picked up Spryzen. "You did well, Spriggan." Shu praised.

"Why you!" Takuto shouted.

"There is no way we'll allow both of you out of this building now!" Kamui added. They approached Shu and Aichi.

"Get out of this building," Kai said. That was our agreement so butt out of it." Kai responded.

"What?!"

Shu looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

Kai turned his head. "Would you much rather stay? That was part of our agreement right?" He responded.

Aichi began to wake up. "Shu, did you win?" He asked a little drowsy.

"I am just fine. I won." Shu answered with a smile. "How about we go home now?"

Aichi nodded. They walked into the elevator together and left the building.

"Toshiki Kai! Don't tell me you're beginning to defy me once again…" Takuto said angrily. Kai ignored the question and walked out of the room. "As stubborn as ever I see..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Aichi and Shu walked home together. "Shu are you okay? You look tired." Aichi asked he looked worried. Shu looked at Aichi's concerned face before smiling and patting his head.

"Don't look so worried," Shu said. He stumbled a few times and almost fell. Aichi put Shu's arm around his shoulder and smiled. He was much shorter than Shu, so he would only give support to Shu if he fell.

"Shu, can you cook while you're so exhausted?" Aichi asked.

"I guess, I can't," Shu answered. He pulled his arm off of Aichi. "How about you stay at one of my friend's house for tonight? I can take care of myself." He suggested.

Aichi shook his head before latching onto Shu's arm tightly. "Hey, Aichi...!" Shu exclaimed.

"I'm not going without you!" He declined. He continued to hold onto Shu.

"Alright... Fine… Let's go together." Shu responded after thinking it over. It was getting really dark. They began walking again and soon reached Valt's house.

Shu had fainted right when they reached the front door. He looked extremely exhausted. " Shu!" Aichi exclaimed. He gulped before taking the responsibility of knocking on the door. He was worried about who would open the door and what he would say to explain what happened.

"I'll get the door!" Someone announced cheerfully from inside. It was the pink haired twin. She looked outside and saw Aichi with an extremely exhausted Shu.

"Mom!" The twin cried.

"Who is it, Nika?" Valt asked. "You're that new kid and… Shu?!" He never saw Shu like that before. Aichi was practically carrying Shu by the arm.

Valt's mom walked over and saw Shu and Aichi. "Shu?! Come in." She said. Valt took Shu's other side and they took him inside. Shu opened his eyes weakly before closing them.

" _Last time, he wasn't this weak after a battle using my power… Why now…?"_ Aichi thought as he looked over to Shu, who was laying on the couch. Shu turned his head and as he did, the cloth fell off of his head. Aichi stood up and walked over to Shu to put it back on his head.

"I'll protect you next time Shu…" Aichi muttered. He smiled and held Shu's hand. "I won't cause you any more pain."

Shu opened his eyes and saw Aichi. "I won't burden you anymore, Shu. So I will take this away-" Aichi said.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Shu exclaimed yanking his hand from Aichi's. Aichi was surprised. "Do you think that that will help me?! Well, you're wrong!" He added. Aichi looked down, shocked after seeing Shu explode in anger. After hearing the commotion, everyone gathered there.

"I'm sorry, Shu." Aichi apologized as they walked in. Aichi's voice was shaky. He then ran outside with tears in his eyes.

"Wait! Aichi!" Shu called. He got up but fell over on the floor instead.

"Shu, what happened?" Valt asked. He took Shu's arm and tried helping him back up to the couch.

"That doesn't matter, go after him!" Shu responded pushing Valt's hand back to him.

Meanwhile, Aichi was outside the door. He sat there and looked at the sky. He pulled out Blaster Blade from his pocket and held it up to the sky. "Blaster Blade, show me the path I should take." He said.

" _I'll show you your path."_ A voice responded. Aichi held Blaster Blade tightly and stood up trying to see who it was. Something lifted Aichi off of his feet by the neck. In the process, Aichi dropped Blaster Blade on the ground.

Aichi cried. "Let me go!" He demanded. He was talking as best he can while being strangled. Soon, because of the lack of oxygen, he felt weaker and fell unconscious. At that moment, they disappeared leaving Blaster Blade on the ground.

When Valt was outside, Aichi was already gone. "Where did he go?" Valt asked himself. He looked down on the ground and saw Blaster Blade. Shu held the door for support.

"Where is he?" Shu asked. Valt walked to him and dropped Blaster Blade on his hand. Shu held onto Blaster Blade tightly and mustered all his strength to take the next step.

"Wait, Shu!" Valt shouted. He held onto Shu so that he wouldn't fall. "Come on, you can't help him in your condition." He said.

"I don't care," Shu responded.

"We'll search tomorrow, okay? For now, you should rest," Valt said. Shu closed his eyes and gave into the exhaustion.

Inside, they ate and went to bed. Shu held Blaster Blade up and looked at it. "Blaster Blade. Where is Aichi? I know you two have a special connection with each other." Shu asked.

" _Not even I can sense him right now. But something called Void took him away."_ Blaster Blade answered.

"Void?" Shu answered.

" _That is the being that wants to use his powers for its own benefit. But as long as you are safe, it won't be able to use him."_ Blaster Blade explained.

"Has he been living a life where people only wanted him to use him?" Shu asked.

" _He had close friends that were with him because of their tie of friendship. But that changed when a being called Link Joker invaded his world and changed them. He was able to defeat Link Joker, but they were pulled into your world because of a gate."_ Blaster Blade answered.

"Link Joker? Another world?" Shu responded.

" _Aichi isn't from this world. Nor are the three you met today. My Vanguard, Aichi Sendou may look young right now, but he is really 16 years old. Void cast a spell on him so that he lost all of his past memories, but that didn't change my Vanguard's strong will. He escaped from Void and in doing so fatefully met you."_ Blaster Blade explained.

"He is really 16 years old? That explains why he is so smart." Shu said.

 _As I mentioned before, there was an invasion on his world. During the invasion, multiple gates were created throughout the world. After defeating my Vanguard defeated Link Joker, the gate pulled Link Joker into it and Link Joker persisted to drag my Vanguard with it. One of your opponents, the one using Dragonic Overlord was also pulled into the gate, but any other Blader that you meet that works under Link Joker are just images created by Void."_ Blaster Blade explained.

"I understand the just of it... But for now, do you know where he would be right now?" Shu asked.

" _I am unsure. Void is masking off his presence. I can't sense his presence anywhere. But... that building you were taken to. That would be your best chance to find him. It would be safer for him if you don't save him since they can't do anything until they've defeated you. In the end, I will leave the decision to you, Shu Kurenai."_ Blaster Blade answered as his voice disappeared. Shu thought for a while longer before falling asleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aichi found himself inside a cage. There was a collar around his neck. "Where am I?" He asked himself. He stood up and walked to the bars. "Let me out! I'm not going to help you with anything! Let me out!" He shouted. He pulled and banged on the bars.

"Let me out!" Aichi continued to shout.

Soon Takuto walked inside the room Aichi's cage was in scratching his head. "Geez, Sendou! Be quiet! People are trying to sleep!" He whined.

"I won't stop until you let me out!" Aichi responded.

"You know, even if you get out. That collar on you has a tracker embedded inside, so we will find you again and bring you back here anyway," Takuto said. Aichi pulled on the collar that was around his neck as Takuto placed clothes on the ground for Aichi. "Be a good little boy and change into these clothes. Oh! And there are security cameras everywhere, so there is no chance of escaping this time. Well then, I'll leave you to it then." Takuto left.

Aichi knelt down and looked at the clothes that were placed on the ground. On the top of the pile, there was a pair of black synthetic leather fingerless gloves that reached up to his wrists, there was a purple gem in the center of the glove. He moved those over and saw a medium shade blue-tailed long jacket that had dark blue lining details. Underneath were a dark light blue turtleneck and a navy blue belt and matching pants. Finishing with dark blue shoes that were close to a black shade.

Aichi put the pile back together and sat at the corner of the relatively small cage opposite from the pile of clothes. He dropped his head on his knees. The door opened. "Didn't Takuto ask you to change?" A voice asked. Aichi looked up and saw Kai.

"You are that person that battled Shu," Aichi said. Kai opened the cage door and walked in before locking it behind him.

"That's right. My name is Kai. You might not remember, but we use to be close. I'm actually the one that gave you Blaster Blade." Kai said.

"I don't remember that. Also, I would never be friends with you." Aichi responded. Kai stood above Aichi.

"Stand up already and do as you're told. You are wasting everyone's patience." Kai ordered.

"I'm not going to do anything you ask me to," Aichi answered.

"Still as stubborn as ever I see," Kai said. He clicked a button and the collar began shocking Aichi. He cried. "Come on, stop wasting my time." He ordered.

Aichi shook his head. " _Toshiki Kai, leave. I will handle this."_ Void ordered. Kai nodded and left the cage before leaving the room. The collar turned off leaving Aichi in pain on the ground. " _Why must you insist on resisting. It'll be easier for you if you just follow what they say."_ Void said.

"Let me out!" Aichi demanded.

" _Give it a break. Fine, then we'll have to do this the hard way. Without Blaster Blade to protect you, I can possess you long enough for you to do this."_ Void said. Aichi suddenly felt his body moving on his own, he began resisting, but he wasn't able to do it for long.

"Ah! No!" Aichi cried.

 _"Stop panicking, I'm not going to harm you."_ Void replied. Void changed his clothes and released him after leaving his old clothes in a pile on the side of the cage.

Aichi panted and fell to his knees. " _We always have to do it the hard way, huh? Once I've dealt with that pest, I'll take you outside and use your power."_ Void said.

"Shu…?" Aichi asked.

" _Sendou, behave yourself and do as the adults say."_ Void chuckled before disappearing.

Aichi sat back on the corner. "What do I do?" He asked himself. "Shu…" The purple gem on his gloves glew and he began feeling drowsy. After resisting for a while, he fell to his side before falling unconscious.

Takuto was looking at the security cameras and Void joined him. " _With that glove, we can keep him under control. Now, all we have to deal with is that boy that he is connected to."_ Void said.

"I can leave bait for him. But Sendou needs to be the bait." Takuto suggested.

" _And if he manages to save Sendou?"_ Void responded.

"We can track him down through the collar and use that gem's power for easy picking," Takuto answered.

" _Fine, but after that, you better be able to recapture him."_ Void agreed.

* * *

The next day, Shu left Valt's house and went back home. While he was walking home, a car pulled over beside him. Shu turned to see Kai and Takuto walk out of the car. Shu stopped walking, he knew that they would probably have Aichi.

"Shu Kurenai. We meet again." Kai said. Shu remained alert.

"I guess we don't need to pretend you don't know. Yes, Aichi is in our custody right now." Takuto informed. He pulled out a tablet and showed the security camera inside the room Aichi's cage was. Aichi was unconscious on the ground, the purple gem still glowing brightly.

"What did you do to him?" Shu asked.

"Nothing. We can't do anything until you are out of the way." Takuto answered. "Also… We need that pest that you have with you. As much as we don't want to take him in, creating a new connection won't work without him."

Shu looked at Blaster Blade, which was in his hand. "So what do you want with me?" He asked.

"We are challenging you to another battle. We need to defeat you while using Sendou's powers to break that connection so that we can create a new one." Kai answered.

"And… winning is the only way to save Aichi Sendou." Takuto added in a taunting tone.

"Take me to him," Shu demanded.

"I'm glad you can understand what we want without much resistance," Takuto said. Shu got into the car with Kai and Takuto and drove off to the Tatsunagi Corporation building.

They walked into a stadium room that Aichi's cage was moved to. "Aichi!" Shu called. He held the bars.

" _At ease, Shu Kurenai. I'll wake him up right now."_ Void responded. " _Sendou, it is time to awaken."_ He ordered. The gem stopped glowing and Aichi soon woke up.

Aichi looked drowsy. He looked around while getting up. "Shu…?" He asked. When he finally noticed the situation he was in. "Shu! You're here!" He said running to the bars.

"Aichi, take off those gloves right now," Shu said. Aichi turned to the gloves and tried to take them off, but the strap on his wrists kept it from coming off.

" _Shu Kurenai, that isn't the reason I've invited you here today. If you want him to be released then you will have to defeat Link Joker with Sendou's power."_ Void said.

"Shu, no! It's a trap." Aichi warned. "Even if you win, they will just find me and capture me again." He explained.

"If I win, then you need to leave Aichi alone from now on," Shu answered.

" _I can't do that, but you have my word that there would be no trackers or tricks left on him. But for this new change, you will be battling against me."_ Void said.

"I'll do it." Shu agreed.

"Shu… should you be doing this? You might be exhausted after this and you don't know if they're actually going to keep their promise." Aichi warned.

"Believe me, Aichi. Please, lend me your power." Shu requested. Aichi stepped away from Shu shaking his head.

"Shu, I don't want you to do this," Aichi said. "I can feel that Void is too strong." He added.

"Sendou, be an obedient boy and give your power over to him," Takuto ordered.

Aichi shook his head. "You're going to use that gem to guarantee that you'd win." He replied.

" _Listen, Sendou. Since I can completely confident that I'll win even without using outside influences. I will release everything I can use to give myself an advantage temporarily until I win and put them back on. I will also release you from your cage. I will do anything until you are satisfied that I haven't rigged this battle."_ Void suggested. Void manifested into a body and walked towards Aichi. Aichi took a step back until he was right in front of Shu, his back was pressing on the bars. Void used his powers to release the glove and the collar. Takuto unlocked the cage to release Aichi.

Once Aichi walked out, he looked down. "Give Blaster Blade to him, it'll only work if he has it," Kai said.

Shu handed Blaster Blade to Aichi. " _My Vanguard you must do this. If you don't, there is no chance of you escaping. Shu Kurenai is only doing this to protect you."_ Blaster Blade said.

Aichi nodded and took a breath. "Shu, I believe in you." He said before Shu transformed and he fell unconscious.

Void stood at one side of the stadium. "We'll have a 3 point battle. Unless you want to have a 1 point match, where I will most definitely win." Void said.

"Let's have a one point match," Shu answered. Takuto looked surprised. "I was already told before if Spryzen ever stops spinning, then this connection I have with Aichi will be gone. If I can't win the first time, there is no point in battling a second time."

Void turned to Takuto. "I didn't think he'll remember what I said!" He said.

"Okay, then let's begin and get this over with." Void responded.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Let it rip!"

Shu felt the overwhelming dark and powerful aura around the Beyblade."This power…" Shu muttered. They collided and a gigantic blast was created from it. Spryzen didn't get completely knocked out. Because of Aichi and Blaster Blade's power, Spriggan didn't get knocked out or burst. They collided again and again with each attack having less effect on Spryzen than the last.

"Spriggan, Counter Break!" Shu ordered. Spryzen followed as ordered.

"You're running into your own defeat. Schwarzschild Dragon, end their misery." Void answered. Schwarzschild Dragon collided with Spryzen. The aura around Spryzen flared and Schwarzschild Dragon burst.

"What?!" Takuto and Void exclaimed.

"I'm not the only one who is battling you right now, Void. Aichi is giving just as much effort in defeating you." Shu reminded.

"That was Sendou and Blaster Balde then!" Takuto shouted. Shu and Spryzen changed back to normal. Aichi soon woke up with Blaster Blade in his hand.

"Shu… we won." Aichi muttered.

"Hey Aichi, I have a match in a district tournament today. Would you like to come watch my match?" Shu asked.

"A match?" Aichi responded.

"Right, there are matches every Saturday until there is a winner," Shu answered. "Luckily, my match was later in the day. I might have missed watching Valt's battle." He said.

"Does that mean that you're going to be late?" Aichi asked.

"If we hurry there now, we'll be able to make it," Shu answered. Aichi nodded happily. Shu saw Aichi's clothes on the ground inside the cage. Kai gritted his teeth and scrunched his hand into a fist. Takuto noticed that action.

"What's wrong, Kai? Jealous?" Takuto teased.

"Don't be ridiculous." Kai denied, he turned and left the room angrily.

"I have to fix something, please excuse me, master Void," Takuto informed before following Kai out the door.

Void dispersed into black mist. " _Since I am a man of my word, I will be releasing you today, but next time you won't be so lucky."_ Void said before disappearing. Aichi changed back into his old clothes. Shu checked for any trackers and found nothing.

"Come on, let's go. Wouldn't want them to change their mind, right?" Shu joked. Aichi nodded happily and hurried along with him. They got outside without any interference Aichi noticed that Shu wasn't as tired as last time, but he was exhausted instead and Shu noticed it once they got out.

Shu walked in front of Aichi and knelt down inviting Aichi onto his back. "Shu...?" Aichi said weakly.

"Climb on, you're tired. Probably because you put more effort into it than me," Shu replied. Aichi smiled and nodded before climbing on. Shu lifted Aichi up.

As they were walking Aichi fell asleep. "Shu's unstoppable... he will always win... You don't need to worry, Blaster Blade..." He muttered meaning he was speaking to Blaster Blade in his sleep. Shu smiled and continued walking.

Meanwhile, Kai was with Takuto. "What's wrong? You lost it after seeing Aichi so close to Shu Kurenai." Takuto teased.

Kai was enraged. "Quiet!" He shouted.

"I don't think you should care about something like this. I never told you to." Takuto said.

"You're jealous aren't you? You use to be close to Sendou and you enjoyed him being around 'you'. That is why you reveal your entire identity to Sendou back then. If Void found out that you were trying to reawaken the memories that Void sealed off, you would've been punished quite terrible." Takuto explained, taunting Kai further.

"Be quiet!" Kai demanded.

"Oh, right! Now that I remember, you wanted Aichi to stand by your side once you were stronger than him. Like how it used to be." Takuto remembered.

"I told you to be quiet!" Kai repeated.

"You know what to do if you want him to be by your side again. One way to make him how he used to be; when you were stronger than him and he saw you as a someone that he can go to for protection and guidance." Takuto continued. "I'll leave you to think of your plan, okay? I'll give you a chance to think of a plan of your own. It seems my plans usually end in a failure anyway." He left the room leaving Kai alone.

"Aichi…" Kai muttered.

* * *

Aichi woke up when they reached the mall.

"Shu Kurenai bursts his opponent in 5 seconds!"

Aichi smiled and cheered quietly from the back of the audience. He waited for Shu at the door he entered in. Shu soon walked out and smile. "Did I keep you waiting?" He asked.

Aichi smiled childishly and shook his head. "You're really strong, Shu." He commented enthusiastically.

"You're praising me too much," Shu responded. Aichi's expression suddenly looked down. "But… Thank you. Your opinion means a lot to me." He said patting Aichi's head. Aichi's expression looked happy again.

When they walked out, Valt was waiting for him. "Shu!" He called. Shu turned to Valt who ran to him and elbowed him. "You're amazing man! With that much practice, it's no surprise! You get me fired up!" He cheered.

Shu turned to Valt. "Yeah." He simply replied.

"Typical from someone who's my rival!" Valt said. Shu smiled. "Rivals sure are awesome! When they battle, their will to fight is mu… mu… mu…" Aichi looked a little confused, he knew what Valt was trying to say.

Aichi stood behind Shu and said quietly, "Mutual?"

Valt pointed at Shu as if he was the one who said it. "Yeah, that's the word!" He laughed. "Us rivals need to face off in the finals! Yea, yea! Rivals are great!" He cheered.

Kiyama slid towards Valt and Shu. "You forgetting someone?!" He exclaimed.

"Oh! We're all rivals!" Valt corrected.

"Yeah!" Kiyama cheered.

"You're exaggerating things," Shu commented.

"It's fine to exaggerate stuff like this! Beybattles… really are fun!" Valt cheered.

Shu turned to Aichi. "How about we go home?" He suggested. Aichi nodded enthusiastically.

When Aichi and Shu reached home. Aichi looked down while sitting on the chair in front of the kitchen table. Shu walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Is something wrong?" Shu asked.

"Shu… I'm sorry for doubting you. I should've believed that you could handle it and gave you my power without any hesitation. Also, I should have never tried to make the decision to take this power away from you." Aichi explained.

Shu smiled and patted Aichi's head. "What are you sorry about? You were only thinking about me. You should think about yourself sometimes too. Actually, I think you were making the right choice to hesitate because they would've definitely rigged the battle if you hadn't done so," He said while ruffling Aichi's hair.

Aichi smiled and looked up at Shu. "Thank you, Shu," Aichi thanked happily.

"Again with these thank yous. There is no need to thank me, I took on the responsibility of protecting you and now we are practically family." Shu responded.

"A family?" Aichi asked.

"That's right, our connection is as strong as brothers. That makes us family." Shu answered with a smile. Aichi looked happy and hugged Shu.

"Thank you, Shu. I'm so happy we met." Aichi thanked.

Shu remembered what Blaster Blade said to him. " _Right… He is really 16 but lost all of his past memories because of a spell. Would regaining his memories return him back to normal?"_ Shu thought to himself. He released himself from Aichi's embrace. "I'll start cooking. You should wash up, alright?"

Aichi nodded enthusiastically. He grabbed his towel and the clothes that Shu left out for him and went into the shower while Shu cooked for both of them.

Shu finished up cooking when suddenly Shu heard footsteps outside the door. Then the lock turned and unlocked. Shu looked over to the hallway and saw two people walk inside his apartment. "Mom? Dad?" Shu identified.

Aichi was just finishing up when he heard the door open and close. He stayed behind the wall to hide himself. "Shu, it's been so long. I'm happy to see you healthy and grown up," A female voice said.

"I haven't seen you for a while too mom," Shu answered. Aichi peeked from the corner and saw Shu's mom hugging him tightly. "What are you doing here? You didn't tell me that you were coming back." He asked.

"Actually, the reason why we're back is because we were nervous that you couldn't take care of that poor little boy." His mom answered.

"He's fine," Shu assured.

"Where is he?" His dad asked. Shu looked over to the side shifting a little to see Aichi's head slightly.

"Come here, Aichi. Don't be scared, they're my parents." Shu coaxed. Aichi slowly peeked out more before running to Shu's side and hid behind him. "This is Aichi, he's still a little shy." He said.

"I have some news concerning him. We found someone who knows who he is and can take him to his family. He said that he use to be close friends with him." Shu's dad informed. Kai walked through the door and Aichi hid shaking.

"No!" Aichi cried holding tightly onto Shu. Shu's mom and dad looked surprised.

"What's wrong? He's here to take you home." Shu's mom said nervously.

"Mom, dad. He isn't who he says he is. He's been trying to kidnap Aichi for a while now." Shu explained.

"Kidnap him?!" They exclaimed.

"Aichi quit overreacting. You can't tell me that you've forgotten the name, Toshiki Kai. I told you before, didn't I? I gave you Blaster Blade and gave you strength." Kai repeated.

Aichi's head began hurting. "I don't know anything! I don't remember you!" He cried.

" _Picture yourself big and strong like that warrior on that card I just gave you."_

" _I-I'll get stronger?"_

" _Haha! Maybe not instantly, but remember; let that image be your power!"_

Aichi remembered faintly. A dark aura appeared to suppress those memories. "I'm not here to remind you of everything," Kai said. He tossed Shu a phone.

"What is this?" Shu asked defensively.

"It's nothing. Takuto and Void don't know about this. Aichi, you can call me if you want to know the whole story, but the price of having my knowledge is your powers. The old you would do anything to know the truth, if you are still you, then I know what your answer is." Kai explained. He left the building leaving Shu's mom and dad confused.

"Aichi, are you alright?" Shu asked. Aichi held his head and nodded. "Does your head hurt?" He asked. Aichi nodded.

"You should lie down on my bed for now. I'll bring you food soon, okay?" Shu responded. Aichi nodded and walked to Shu's room to get some rest.

"That boy looks like he's been through a lot." Shu's mom commented.

"Are you completely sure that you can take care of him? We can find a family that will take care of him." Shu's dad asked.

"I can take care of him really. It looks like he won't open up to anyone else so easily anyway," Shu assured.

"Okay, Shu. Thank you for being so good without us around," Shu's mom thanked.

"You both work hard everyday. The least I can do is take care of myself," Shu responded.

"Let's get back to talking about Aichi. I'll continue to try to find his parents, but for now, I can leave him with you." Shu's dad said.

Shu nodded. "I'll be with him and keep him safe," he assured.

"Shu, we would love to stay here longer, but we have an important interview some people coming up soon and..." Shu's mom informed.

"It's fine. I'll just help him eat and go down to the BeyStadiums to train while he's asleep," Shu answered.

"We'll be going then, Shu," Shu's dad said.

"We love you," Shu's mom said as if she didn't want to leave yet.

"I know..." Shu replied embarrassed. His mom and dad left the apartment hastily, nervous that they would be late for the meeting. Shu ate before carrying a bowl of food into his room, he saw Aichi asleep inside.

"Aichi, wake up. You should eat before going back to sleep." Shu said. Aichi slowly opened his eyes and smiled at Shu. "I'll help you eat."

Aichi sat up on the bed. He still had a small headache. Shu helped Aichi eat his food. "Aichi, would you let me go down to the BeyStadiums and train for a little while? I haven't been following my training regiment lately." Shu asked.

"Okay, Shu." Aichi agreed as he finished the food.

"I'll be back soon, so just rest here," Shu said. Aichi nodded. He laid back on the bed and falling asleep. Shu began his training for the afternoon.

* * *

 **Well, that was chapter 2! I hope you guys liked it!**

 **The next chapter will be posted on September 4, 2017, so watch for that! I always enjoy getting feedback. I may not answer them, but I do read all the feedback I get and keep them in mind, so go ham! Anyways, I'll see you on September 4th!**


	3. The Lost Friend

The next day, Aichi was feeling much better, his headache was gone after some sleep. But he felt bad for holding Shu back from his training since he had to take care of him so much. He sat up on the bed before getting up and walking out of Shu's room. Shu was already awake and cooking breakfast for the both of them.

"Aichi. You're awake. Are you feeling better?" Shu asked. Aichi nodded, it looked like something was in his mind. "What's in your mind? You can tell me," Shu asked.

"I want you to do your training today. I'll follow you while you're doing it," Aichi requested.

Shu looked at Aichi nervously. "Well, Aichi... my training is really strenuous. I'm not sure if you can catch up," Shu warned.

"That isn't what I meant, I'll just be with you," Aichi insisted.

Shu smiled and ruffled his hair. "Alright. But you should also do some studying okay?" He responded. Aichi nodded happily. He ran around to get his backpack and dropped his textbooks inside it.

Then Aichi sat at the kitchen table. "Shu, didn't your parents come back?" He asked looking around.

"Oh, they're really busy so they might not be back for a while," Shu answered with a smile putting Aichi's plate on the table.

"Are you lonely?" Aichi asked sadly.

"No, you're with me right now so I don't feel lonely at all," Shu answered happily. "We should eat quickly, so we can get to training."

"Thank you for the food," Aichi thanked before starting eating. "Shu… do you think I can join your family since I don't remember mine?" He asked shyly.

Shu smiled. "Of course you can, but we should try to find your family first. Your surname is Sendou. With that information, we can find them," He assured.

"What if I don't fit in with them anymore? I don't have any memories and time has passed," Aichi responded.

"Don't worry so much, Aichi. They are your parents, they will work it out with you," Shu assured.

"Do you really think that?" Aichi asked.

"I'm positive," Shu assured.

Aichi smiled. "I hope they still remember me. I want to meet them," He said warmly. Shu smiled and picked up Aichi's dishes to wash.

"I'll wash this and we can get going okay?" Shu asked. Aichi nodded enthusiastically in response. He jumped up from his seat and began putting on his shoes. Shu changed into his working out clothes before joining Aichi.

"Let's go," Shu said, Aichi nodded happily and left the apartment with Shu. They first visited the bridge where Shu practiced his balance. He stood on a wooden pole on one leg using his launcher to practice launching without his Beyblade.

Aichi sat at the side of the bridge reading his textbook. He was sitting where Shu could see him. Luckily, it seemed like Takuto, Kai or anyone else was there to try to capture him. After about an hour, they moved to their next location. They stood at the bottom of a mountain. There were stairs spiraling to the top of the mountain to a shrine.

"Do you want to run to the top with me? We can have a race," Shu asked happily.

Aichi pouted. "I'm bad at running. I can't beat you," He answered sadly.

Shu laughed making Aichi blush and turn away. "I'm sorry for laughing, will you forgive me?" Shu apologized. Aichi turned back to him. "How about this; I'll slow down when you get tired. I'm afraid that leaving you down here will be dangerous," Shu responded. Aichi thought a little and nodded. Shu took Aichi's bag and they both began jogging up the stairs.

At the halfway point, Aichi was exhausted. He looked over at Shu to see that he wasn't even panting. " _He does this a lot… if I hadn't bothered him, then maybe he could've improved himself more than now,"_ He thought. Aichi's aura appeared around him reacting to his determination.

Shu looked over and saw Aichi's determined face. _"He's really putting all his effort into this,"_ Shu thought. Once they reached the top, Aichi's legs couldn't carry him any further. He tripped and fell. Luckily, Shu was there to catch him before he slammed face first onto the concrete floor.

"Be careful, don't fall okay?" Shu said with a smile.

Aichi looked up happily. "I did it, Shu!" He cheered. He was panting and completely exhausted, but he did make it.

"We can stay here until you feel like you can go down the stairs," Shu said. They rested for 5 minutes before darkness began spreading through the area.

Aichi shivered. "Shu…" He muttered. He was still too tired to run down the mountain.

"Here hold on to this," Shu ordered. He pushed the bag to Aichi and he pulled it over his shoulders. "Come up," Shu didn't wait for Aichi's response before pulling him onto a piggy back.

"Hold on, okay?" Shu said jumping up to get a better hold of Aichi. Aichi curled closer to Shu. He had his arms around Shu and held onto him as tight as possible. Then Shu began running down the stairs.

"Shu, be careful," Aichi cried. Shu ran up and down the stairs with two tires on his back before, so this wasn't anything new for him. But doing it under pressure, he never had the feeling.

"We are almost down," Shu assured, he looked down and saw that they were halfway down. Aichi had his eyes closed tightly as he held tighter onto Shu.

Once they got down from the mountain, Shu looked back and saw that the darkness was leaving. Shu turned to Aichi to see that he was shivering and eyes closed.

"We're safe, Aichi," Shu informed. Aichi slowly opened his eyes and saw the back of Shu's head. Shu put Aichi down on the floor.

Aichi watched Shu, he was panting and sweating heavily. "I'm sorry, Shu," Aichi apologized.

Shu looked over at Aichi. "I'm fine, I just need some time to cool down," He responded.

"Hey, Aichi," Someone called.

Aichi looked over, Kai and Takuto were walking towards them.

"Shu Kurenai, it is about time for you to lose," Takuto said. Shu stood up straight, he was still panting and breathing heavy.

"Shu…" Aichi said. He held onto Shu's shirt. "You're too tired to battle right now," He informed passively.

"I'm fine, Aichi," Shu assured.

"Right! You should listen to Shu Kurenai, Sendou," Takuto agreed.

"No! I'm going to battle you!" Aichi declared. He held onto Blaster Blade.

"Hm…?!" Kai exclaimed surprised. Aichi stood in front of Shu.

"Aichi, don't be reckless," Shu said.

"I'm going to do this!" Aichi repeated. He placed Blaster Blade on his launcher and pointed it to Takuto and Kai.

"Okay, Sendou. As you wish, but if you lose, you will end this ridiculous struggle," Takuto agreed.

"Okay," Aichi answered without hesitation.

"Aichi, you have only launched your Beyblade once. Also, you've never battled anyone before," Shu reminded.

"I know, but I can do this. I can hear Blaster Blade telling me that I can do it," Aichi assured.

"Okay then. I'll trust you then," Shu replied calmly.

"I actually already organized a field for this battle. Come with me," Takuto said evilly. Aichi gave Shu a shoulder as they followed Takuto and Kai. They saw a stadium inside the forest near the mountain they climbed. Aichi and Kai took their positions.

"This brings back memories, doesn't it Kai?" Takuto asked.

"Be quiet, Takuto," Kai demanded. Aichi and Blaster Blade glowed the same aura, then suddenly, darkness tried to suppress the aura. " _Blaster Blade is trying to return Aichi's memories."_

Aichi closed his eyes and a blinding light surrounded him. When the light disappeared, it showed that Aichi aged; instead of his turquoise T-shirt and blue pants, he was now wearing a white jacket with purple on the shoulders and the ends of his sleeves, the jacket was over a pink turtle neck. Also, he wore a pair of navy blue pants.

Aichi opened his eyes, Kai saw the Aichi he knew. "Kai," He said.

"So you're back... do you remember everything?" Kai asked.

"I do… but this spell that the Void put on me will erase those memories again," Aichi answered. "But… that doesn't matter right now. Don't you remember what happened when you first submitted to Link Joker? Why are you doing this again?" He asked.

"I don't think I need to answer that question, let's get on with this battle first," Kai responded.

"I'm going to bring you back once more!" Aichi declared.

"I'd like to watch you try," Kai answered.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Let it rip!"

Takuto turned to Shu. "You got quite lucky, seeing a match between these two is quite a spectacle," Takuto said.

" _This is the real Aichi?"_ Shu thought while watching Aichi from behind.

Blaster Blade and Dragonic Overlord chased each other in the stadium in high speeds. Blaster Blade was the first to collide with Dragonic Overlord from behind. They continued to collide, but they were soft collisions "Blaster Blade, Burst Blaster!" Aichi ordered. Blaster Blade began to glow a blue aura.

Electricity formed around Blaster Blade and attacked Dragonic Overlord. "Dragonic Overlord, Eternal Flame!" Dragonic Overlord's aura appeared and fire formed. Both of them collided and a burst of electricity and fire exploded. Aichi and Kai stood there calmly and looked at each other with determination.

Their Beyblades continued to collide aggressively. "They are equal in strength," Shu pointed out.

"You must be grateful, huh? You should thank my master, Void for casting that spell on Sendou. If my master hadn't done that, you would've never achieved the level of strength you possess while merged with Sendou's power," Takuto grinned.

"I don't want to protect him because of his power. He was so scared and helpless when I first met him. I knew I needed to help him," Shu corrected.

"Look at you now. You're the one in need of protecting now," Takuto responded.

After many collisions, both Blaster Blade and Dragonic Overlord stopped spinning on opposite sides of the stadium.

"A tie?" Kai asked unsatisfied.

"Time is up, Sendou. If you wanted to win, you should've ended things on that battle," Takuto said. Aichi turned to Takuto and saw that Void was by his side. Void's spell strengthened and Aichi's headache began.

"Stop!" Kai ordered. Aichi began getting engulfed in darkness. After the darkness retreated, it revealed that Aichi returned to his child form. Aichi soon opened his eyes and looked around.

"What happened?" Aichi asked. He saw the launcher in his hand and Blaster Blade on the stadium ground. He also saw Kai on the other side of the stadium.

Aichi cautiously picked up Blaster Blade before running to Shu. "Shu, are you okay?" Aichi asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Shu answered. He patted Aichi's head and Aichi smiled. Kai clicked his tongue and turned away angrily.

"Sendou, you may not remember but you challenged us and the fight isn't done yet. If you lose, you will break your connection with Shu Kurenai and come with-" Takuto informed.

"I'm leaving," Kai said cutting Takuto off. He left the stadium.

"Toshiki Kai, I order you to fight again," Takuto demanded.

"Not interested," Kai answered instantly. "You can fight him if you want, but I'm leaving," He added.

"As disobedient as ever, I see. I guess we'll have to do without. Aichi Sendou, we will battle with the same stacks as before," Takuto responded.

Aichi held onto Shu as Takuto walked to one side of the stadium. "Quickly now, be a good boy and take responsibility for your big mouth," He said.

Shu stepped forward. "Can I take his place?" He asked.

"No, Sendou should take responsibility and take whatever punishment may come from that," Takuto declined. Aichi continued to hide. "I'm sure you don't want me to ask Void to force you," He added.

Aichi's body was shaking in fear. "Aichi believe in yourself okay? If you have a winning image, you'll have enough power to win," Shu assured. Aichi's eyes glowed. Kai stopped after hearing what Shu told Aichi and grit his teeth.

Takuto saw Kai's response and smiled. "Does that bring back some memories Sendou?" Takuto asked with a chuckle.

Aichi recalled the memory of Kai giving him Blaster Blade and overwrote it with Shu.

"Shu… I can do it! As long as you're with me, then I'll be just fine," Aichi cheered happily. Shu was confused about the sudden burst of confidence, but he smiled and nodded. Aichi walked to the stadium and took his position. Takuto saw Aichi and Blaster Blade's flaring aura.

Takuto didn't care if he lost, he wanted his control on Kai to be absolute. "Sendou, let's begin."

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Let it rip!"

Takuto instantly saw the difference between the complete Aichi and his opponent now. The spin and confidence of Blaster Blade's movements just weren't there. "Come on, Sendou. You can't win if you aren't at full power," Takuto said.

Infinite Zero attacked from behind and made Blaster Blade jump to the other side of the stadium. Blaster Blade crashed into the ground, but endured it and spun slowly. "You should learn to stay down," Takuto said.

"Blaster Blade!" Aichi exclaimed worried as another attack hit Blaster Blade.

" _My Vanguard, lend me your strength,"_ Blaster Blade requested. Aichi nodded and his aura grew stronger. Blaster Blade began emitting lightning. Infinite Zero and Blaster Blade collided aggressively.

"Sendou, this is getting nowhere. Allow me to end this," Takuto said. Infinite Zero began to glow a dark red aura and knocked Blaster Blade back. Blaster Blade's spin was growing weak.

"Blaster Blade! Don't quit!" Aichi cried. The blue flames of his aura fired up high above him and entered Blaster Blade. The electricity intensified and was accompanied by light. Blaster Blade attacked Infinite Zero. They continued to fight with each other before finally Blaster Blade burst Infinite Zero.

Aichi's aura faded away. Shu hurried to Aichi's side after seeing him stumbled and fall backward. Aichi looked up and smiled. "Shu… I won…" Aichi muttered.

"You did great. Now you should get some rest," Shu responded. Aichi nodded and fell unconscious. "I don't know your connection with him, but I'm going to protect the person he is right now," Shu said.

"My priority today is shortening the leash of Toshiki Kai. Sendou was just a bonus if Kai or I managed to win," Takuto informed. He began walking away. Shu looked down at Aichi to see his relaxed face.

"Let's go home, Aichi," Shu said. He put Aichi's bag on himself, He put on the bag so that it was in front of his chest, because of that he made enough room for Aichi on his back side. Shu pulled Aichi onto his back before beginning to walk home.

* * *

The next day, Aichi woke up in Shu's bed. He slowly got up and looked around the room. He got out of bed and walked into the living room to find his belt on the table in front of the couch. Blaster Blade was inside the case.

He looked over at the kitchen table and saw a plate of food with a note.

 _Good morning, Aichi._

 _You looked really exhausted when I saw you this morning, so I decided to not wake you up. I'm at school right now, but when school ends I'll go straight home. If the food gets cold you can heat it up using the microwave just set it to one minute once you put it in._

 _From,_

 _Shu_

Aichi sat at the table with Blaster Blade. The food was still warm, so he just started eating. Blaster Blade appeared kneeling beside him.

" _My Vanguard,"_ Blaster Blade said kneeling down.

Aichi turned to the side and jumped after seeing him there. "You're…!" He exclaimed.

" _My name is Blaster Blade, one of the knights of the Royal Paladins,"_ Blaster Blade said.

"Royal Paladins…?" Aichi responded. " _It sounds so familiar…"_ Aichi turned to the table and saw the phone that Kai gave to him.

"That person… he said that I can find the truth of everything from him…" Aichi said to himself. He opened the phone.

" _My Vanguard, you mustn't!"_ Blaster Blade exclaimed. He jumped at Aichi and touched Aichi's hand. But since he was just a spirit, he couldn't stop Aichi from opening the phone. Aichi looked at the background and his eyes widened.

It was a picture of him and Kai shaking hands in front of a table. "Is that me?" Aichi asked. He clicked the contacts and saw that 'Toshiki Kai' was the only contact on the phone.

Aichi was tempted to call Kai. That was when Shu walked into the room. "Aichi, I'm back," Shu said. Aichi jumped and turned to him. Shu saw the phone in Aichi's hands. "Are you going to call him?" Shu asked.

Aichi looked down and shook his head. "I don't want to, but I want to know," he answered.

Shu smiled. "Don't worry, I won't hold it against you if you decide to search for the truth. But I will protect you as long as you want my protection," He responded. Aichi held the phone out to Shu. Shu shook his head in response. "You should keep it."

Shu held Aichi's shoulder and saw Blaster Blade behind him. Blaster Blade bowed before disappearing. "Hurry up and eat alright? I was planning to go out to do some training. You can come with me or stay here," Shu informed. Aichi stood up from his seat enthusiastically.

"Shu, I want to try your training too!" Aichi said.

"Maybe not now, Aichi. You should start slow," Shu responded.

"Okay," Aichi responded. "I think I'll stay here and get some rest. If I come with you, you might be in danger during your training again," he added.

"What if they go after you?" Shu asked.

"I was thinking… whenever they manage to get me, they need to defeat you too. So as long as I have you. I'll be alright," Aichi assured with a smile.

"Alright then. I think your Beyblade would like to speak with you anyway," Shu responded. Aichi turned to Blaster Blade and picked him up. "I'm going to change and get going. I'll be home later to cook for you," he informed. Aichi nodded happily.

Shu turned to the bathroom to change into his training clothes. Aichi sat back on his seat and ate his food. He looked around and saw Spryzen on the table in front of the couch.

Aichi got up from his seat and picked up Spryzen. Aichi activated his Psyqualia to speak with him. "You're Shu's Beyblade, thank you for fighting alongside Shu," he said happily. Spryzen glew in response. He placed Spriggan beside Blaster Blade.

Shu walked out of the bathroom with his clothes changed. At that time, Aichi finished eating and he jumped off of his seat. He held Spryzen out for Shu. "Here, Shu," Aichi said enthusiastically.

"I don't bring Spriggan with me when I go on this kind of training. This training is mostly for endurance and balance," Shu denied.

Aichi's mood drooped into a sad one. "Oh. Sorry Shu," he apologized.

"You don't need to apologize for every little thing you know," Shu chuckled. Aichi looked up at him. "I'll bring it with me today then," Shu agreed. He took Spryzen from Aichi's hand and Aichi's expression brightened.

"I'll get going then, I'll wash the dishes before I go," Shu said.

"I'll wash them," Aichi volunteered.

"Are you sure?" Shu asked. Aichi nodded confidently. "Alright then, I'll get going. I'll leave a spare key on the table in case you want to go outside," he responded while placing a key on the table. He waved at him before leaving.

Aichi sat at the couch and looked at Blaster Blade. "Blaster Blade? Do you know anything about me?" Aichi asked. Blaster Blade appeared in front of him kneeling.

" _My Vanguard, I do know of your past. But I can't explain everything to you,"_ Blaster Blade answered.

Aichi looked down. "I feel like you wouldn't keep me in the dark for no reason. I know you care for me, but can't you tell me why you don't want to explain everything to me?" He asked.

" _Those headaches that you receive when Toshiki Kai tries to speak with you about your past. That is a spell cast on you by an evil being called the Void. That spell is keeping your memories sealed and if I try to awaken some of those sealed memories, you will feel a lot of pain. But even if your memories were to resurface, the spell will compress those memories and seal them away again,"_ Blaster Blade explained.

"Oh, I understand," Aichi responded sadly. Blaster Blade looked up to see Aichi's eyes glisten with tears. "Will I ever get my memories back? Or be with my real family ever again?" He cried.

" _My Vanguard, if you are pained by the unknown there is an option,"_ Blaster Blade said. He pointed at the phone that was on the table. " _Although, I believe that is not the best option. If it is the path you choose, I will follow you in your path."_

Aichi looked at Blaster Blade and wiped his tears. "What if you or Shu gets hurt because of me?" Aichi asked.

" _I am positive that Shu Kurenai and I are in agreement to allow you to make the decision for yourself. Thus, we will respect the outcome,"_ Blaster Blade answered.

Aichi picked up the phone on the table and looked at it. "What if he doesn't do what he promised?" He asked.

" _I've known Toshiki Kai for a while, he keeps his word,"_ Blaster Blade assured. " _Especially towards his friends,"_ He added.

"I'm one of his friends?" Aichi responded.

Blaster Blade nodded. " _Yes, My Vanguard,"_ He confirmed.

"Hm… My friend…?" Aichi muttered. He opened the phone and went to the contacts. He hesitated to click the call button, his finger was hovering the in screen button. Blaster Blade disappeared to leave him to think alone. Aichi gulped and clicked the call button. He put the phone to his ear and heard the calling sounds.

Aichi was tempted to stop the call before Kai answered, but he wanted to follow through with it.

Soon Kai picked up the phone. " _Hello?"_ Kai greeted using his normal tone.

"Hello, Kai," Aichi responded. His voice was shaky and Kai knew that he was really nervous.

" _Do you want to talk? Or are ready to surrender?"_ Kai asked.

"Umm… Could we just spend some time with each other?" Aichi asked.

There was silence for a little while. " _You do realize that I am your enemy,"_ Kai informed.

"I know… But…" Aichi responded. Kai heard the nervous shaking voice.

"Sure, fine. I'll meet you at the park," Kai agreed. He hung up before Aichi can respond.

Aichi stood up, he was scared but he chose to do this. He found a piece of paper and wrote a letter to Shu in case he came back to find that he was missing. Then he left the apartment locking the door behind him.

* * *

 **~At the park~**

Aichi soon reached the park and sat at the BeyStadium steps. He stayed there waiting for Kai to come. _"I think being around Kai will help me,"_ Aichi thought.

He waited for a little longer. _"Maybe he isn't coming..."_ then he saw Kai walking on the sidewalk. When Aichi saw him, he stood up. He ran towards Kai, he had a warm feeling when he got closer to him.

"Aichi, what did you need?" Kai asked. He looked at Aichi as he pulled out his launcher and Blaster Blade. "Are you asking for a fight?" He said coldly.

"It's not that… Shu is busy with his training and Blaster Blade said that I was your friend…" Aichi answered passively.

"My friend?" Kai responded with a growl.

Aichi jumped. "I'm sorry… did I say something wrong?" He apologized. Kai stood there looking down fiercely at Aichi in silence. "I'm sorry for wasting your time," he added. He held his launcher and Blaster Blade protectively before beginning to walk towards the sidewalk.

Kai turned around. "Fine," he agreed. Aichi turned around and his expression brightened.

"Thank you, Kai," Aichi thanked enthusiastically.

"I'm not going easy on you," Kai warned. Aichi nodded happily. "Come on, don't just stand there and smile at me," he said coldly. Aichi ran to the other side of the stadium. Kai smiled a little before Aichi turned to face the stadium.

Kai and Aichi took his stance. "3! 2! 1! Let it rip!"

After many battles, it was starting to get late. Aichi lost every single battle, but he still looked happy. "Aichi, you aren't going to beat me with this level of strength," Kai said. Blaster Blade burst again.

Kai looked at the sky. "It's getting dark, you should go home," he said.

Aichi was picking the pieces of Blaster Blade off the ground. "You're going to let me go?" Aichi asked.

"Yes, but you better leave before I change my mind," Kai answered. Aichi gulped and began leaving. But before he could, a limousine pulled up.

Takuto walked out of the car and smiled. "Pleasant meeting both of you here. You should've told me that you were with Sendou, Kai," He said.

"Butt out, Takuto," Kai responded coldly.

"What is this? Another act of defiance?" Takuto exclaimed. He turned to Aichi and Aichi jumped.

"Aichi, if you want to leave, you better go now," Kai said. Aichi nodded and began running the opposite way from Takuto.

"Wait, Sendou!" Takuto growled. "I want you to witness what happens to someone that defies me," Aichi turned around to see Takuto pull out his Beyblade and launcher.

"Just go, Aichi," Kai ordered. Aichi nodded and kept running. But before he could get far, Kamui and blond boy blocked his way.

"Aichi, it will be smart to stay as Takuto asked," the blond boy said. Aichi tried to avoid and run past them, but the blond boy grabbed his wrist. "Aichi, I know you don't remember me. But I was one of your friends, Miwa Taishi,"

"Miwa?" Aichi responded. A headache began to appear. "I don't know you!" He cried clenching his head with one hand. Miwa took the time to drag Aichi back to the stadium.

"Let him go!" Kai demanded.

"Toshiki Kai, you are supposed to talk orders from me," Takuto responded. "I'll teach you that first hand," They both launched their Beyblades. Aichi shuddered when he felt a lot of negative energy in the air.

"Kai!" Aichi muttered.

Blaster Blade began to glow. " _He will be fine. He is powerful, My Vanguard,"_ Blaster Blade assured. " _But even if, Toshiki Kai were to win. You must get away from them,"_ Blaster Blade added.

Aichi began struggling against Miwa's hold. "Let me go!" He demanded.

"That's right! Release him!" A voice agreed. Everyone turned to the voice and saw Shu.

"Shu!" Aichi called. He used the distraction to get out of Miwa's grip before running to Shu's side. Once Aichi reached Shu, he hugged him.

Shu stroked Aichi's hair to calm him down. "It's alright. Everything is fine now," he assured. "If it's necessary, would you share your power with me?" He asked.

Aichi looked up at Shu and nodded. "Shu Kurenai, take him and leave," Kai ordered. Shu looked at him confused.

"Why would you let us leave?" Shu asked.

"Leave before I change my mind!" Kai answered. Dragonic Overlord was getting pushed around by Infinite Zero.

"Come on, Aichi," Shu said. He turned, but Aichi pulled on his shirt.

"Shu, please we need to help Kai," Aichi pleaded.

Shu looked at Aichi. "He will be fine," Shu assured. "You should know that he is strong," he added.

"I know, but what if he's in trouble?" Aichi asked.

"What do you mean?" Shu responded.

"I feel so much negative energy. It is stronger than anything I felt before," Aichi answered.

"You are far too weak, Toshiki Kai," Takuto grinned. "World's End!"

"What?!" Kai exclaimed.

"Shu, I felt it before, but now I know… That isn't the same Beyblade he used before," Aichi said.

"How did I not notice?!" Kai exclaimed. That was when Dragonic Overlord burst, but Takuto's Beyblade wasn't even close to Dragonic Overlord.

Aichi began remembering something. "This ability…" He said. Red marks appeared on Kai's face and began to glow brightly. Kai cried in pain as he was losing control. After seeing how much pain Kai was in, Aichi ran to his side.

"Wait! Aichi!" Shu shouted.

Aichi stood beside Kai. "Kai! What's wrong? Are you alright?" He asked.

"He'll be fine, but the Kai that you knew will cease to exist," Takuto grinned. Kai slowly stood up.

"Kai?" Aichi called.

Shu knew something was wrong, so he made his way to Aichi's side. But before he could get close enough, Kai pulled Aichi's arm behind his back and he used his other arm to hold Aichi's neck to pull Aichi off his feet.

"Shu!" Aichi cried. His left hand tried to pull Kai's arm off of him, but he wasn't able to do anything to get out of his grip.

"Release him!" Shu demanded.

"It's no use, he is under my complete control now," Takuto said.

"Shu! Help me!" Aichi cried.

"Shu Kurenai, one battle will decide it. One battle with my new Beyblade," Takuto challenged. Shu nodded and pulled out his launcher and Spryzen. He approached Aichi, but Kai didn't let up.

"Aichi, lend me your power," Shu requested.

"Toshiki Kai, let Sendou connect with him," Takuto ordered. Kai let go of Aichi and Aichi held Shu's hand.

"Shu, please win," Aichi pleaded. as he fell unconscious.

"I will trust me," Shu answered. Aichi soon fell unconscious.

"I can't afford to lose, not now," Shu said. He stood at the stadium in his launch position.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Let it rip!"

* * *

 **Hey, guys!**

 **Today is Labour Day (September 4, 2017) and that means that school begins tomorrow! This chapter can be a celebration chapter and/or a good luck chapter; depending on your opinion on school. Anyways, the next chapter will be released on September 8, 2017.**


	4. The Fear

Spryzen and Takuto's Beyblade clashed fiercely. Shu saw the intense red and black aura surrounding Takuto and his Beyblade, he felt an indescribable tenseness from it. After seeing Kai lose without being touched by Takuto's Beyblade at the end of it, he was cautious.

"Oh, how rude of me. I should have introduced you to my new Beyblade," Takuto chuckled. "This powerful Beyblade in my hands is no other than Omega Glendios, it is an old adversary of Sendou's. But now it's back and ready to get revenge on those who defied and tried to stop Void," he explained.

Takuto turned to Kai. "Omega Glendios has already got its revenge on Toshiki Kai, now it is Sendou's turn," he grinned.

"I won't let you touch him!" Shu exclaimed. The bright red and blue flames of Spryzen's aura clashed with Omega Glendios' dark aura. There was an explosion every time they clashes.

"The time is ticking," Takuto said quietly. It was subtle, but Shu noticed the red and blue flames around Spryzen slowly turned red and black.

"What's going on?!" Shu exclaimed after seeing what was happening to Spryzen.

"You can see it, can't you? The aura that signals the World End's arrival," Takuto said.

"World End?" Shu responded. He looked at his hand and saw that it was slightly limp and shaking. "This numbness..."

"The longer this match goes on, the closer you are to utter destruction. You will grow weaker and weaker until even a small breeze can cause your Beyblade to burst. That feeling of numbness, that is the curse Link Joker has cast upon your soul," Takuto explained.

"That is what happened with Kai's Beyblade!" Shu pointed out.

"Precisely, it's only a matter of time," Takuto said.

" _Shu, don't give up!"_ Aichi cheered. Only Shu was able to hear him. " _The battle isn't over yet! you can still fight!"_ Aichi appeared in spirit form beside Shu, his aura was bright.

Takuto saw him and snarled, "Sendou!"

Aichi returned back inside Shu. "Spriggan! Blaster Blade! Aichi! Let's win together!" He said. The power of Spryzen accelerated, Glendios and Spryzen clashed and the impact separated them to opposite sides of the stadium. "Spryzen, Counter Break!"

Spryzen and Glendios clashed one more time before Glendios burst. "Impossible!" Takuto exclaimed. Shu and Spryzen turned back to normal as Aichi soon woke up to see Shu exhausted. Shu wobbled as if he was going to collapse.

"Shu!" Aichi cried. He held onto Shu as he fell onto him.

"I'm fine, Aichi. I just need some rest…" Shu reassured before drifting off.

"Look at what you've done Sendou. Can't you understand that Shu Kurenai's body can't handle all the power that you put into him when you connect with him?" Takuto asked.

"This is because of me?" Aichi looked at Shu's resting face worried.

"Yes, it is. Your power will cause this boy destruction one day," Takuto answered.

"Destruction?" Aichi responded.

"Yes, destruction. Sendou, you have insurmountable power! Shu Kurenai was fine the first few times, but it was slowly eating away at his body. Can't you understand? The only thing that can contain all that power and use it is Void," Takuto answered.

Aichi shook off what Takuto was trying to put into his mind. "Shu said he will protect me! If I go with you, you will undermine everything that he has done for me," Aichi reminded himself. He helped Shu get up by giving him a shoulder.

"I'll let you leave this time, Sendou. Just because he managed to win. You are useless to us until your connection with him is broken. As long as he's unconscious it is a lost cause," Takuto said.

Aichi looked over at Kai, he didn't see the kindness in his eyes anymore. "Thank you for today, Kai…" he thanked quietly.

Takuto turned to see Kai's reaction. Kai chuckled and the red marks on his face glowed brightly. "What are you thanking me for? The next time we battle, I'll take everything from you," Kai responded with an evil laugh.

Aichi's face changed into a sad expression before turning around to get Shu home. It was late at night, there was no one walking through the streets. Luckily, Aichi was able to get to Shu's apartment building without any inconvenience. When he walked inside the person sitting at the counter noticed him with an unconscious Shu.

"Hello, what happened?" The lady sitting at the desk asked.

"Shu got tired all of a sudden..." Aichi answered shyly.

"Here, I'll call an ambulance to make sure he is-" the lady began while pulling out a desk phone and dialing.

"No!" Aichi cried. It started the man at the desk. "Please..." he pleaded.

The lady sighed and walked out of her desk area. "I'll help you bring him to his apartment then," she said.

Aichi's expression brightened and he looked happy. The lady supported Shu into an elevator. "Thank you..." Aichi thanked quietly.

The lady knew that Aichi was a shy boy. Whenever he left with Shu to go to school or training, she noticed that Aichi would always hold onto Shu's arm tightly. "Shu is very lucky to have a new brother like you, take care of him alright?" The lady asked patting Aichi's head. Aichi nodded with a smile. They soon reached the floor of Shu's apartment and walked through the hallways after exiting. "Shu has lived alone for a long time, I think living with you changed him for the better," she said.

Aichi looked up confused when they reached the door to Shu's apartment. "Do you have the key?" She asked. Aichi nodded and pulled out a key that was in his pocket. He unlocked and opened the door. "I'll just get him into bed and get going," she said.

Aichi blushed, it was like she was a mother taking care of children. She placed Shu on his bed then walked outside to leave. "Thank you again, miss," Aichi thanked more confidently and louder.

"Tell me if you need anything, promise?" She asked holding out her pinky while kneeling down to Aichi's height. Aichi nodded and completed the pinky promise.

She soon left and Aichi locked the door before heading to Shu's bedside. "I hope you're okay, Shu." Aichi prayed. He soon fell asleep at Shu's bedside.

* * *

The next morning, Shu woke up early in the morning. "I'm home…?" He muttered. He sat up on the bed and saw Aichi asleep. His arms were crossed on the bed and his head leaned on them. Shu smiled. " _I should better make breakfast then, we both didn't eat dinner last night,"_ he thought.

Shu gently carried Aichi onto the bed and tucked him in. He woke up really early, so he would wake Aichi up later. He first went on a jog around the area. He would usually eat breakfast, then go on his jog before going straight to school. But he was going with Aichi, so he went on his jog first.

During his run, a blond spiky haired boy spotted Shu on his second lap around the area. The blond noticed that Shu has been jogging for a while. "Shu, how long have you been running?" The blond asked.

Shu continued facing forward. "A little while, I'm about to go back home," he answered.

"Going home?!" The blond responded surprised.

Shu turned to the street of his apartment. "Hey! Shu!" The blond called. He stopped before continuing his run again.

When Shu got home, he found that Aichi was still asleep. "Aichi, wake up!" Shu called. Aichi slowly woke up and saw Shu, he was sweating.

"Shu… why are you sweating?" Aichi asked still half asleep. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"I went on my morning jog," Shu answered. "Get ready alright? I'll get our breakfast ready," he said.

Aichi got ready and when he walked out of the room, he saw Shu cooking. "Thank you for helping me, Shu," he thanked.

"What are you thanking me for?" Shu asked with a smile.

"You gave me a home and you've been so nice to me," Aichi answered.

"I told you, you don't need to thank me for that," Shu repeated.

"I can't help it, being with you makes me so happy," Aichi answered childishly and happily. Shu finished up their breakfast and placed it on the table.

When they were done, they walked together to school.

* * *

When they got to school, they went to their classroom.

"Aichi Sendou, please proceed to the principal's office with your things," someone announced in the speakers.

Aichi turned to Shu afraid and confused. "I'll go with you," Shu said. Aichi nodded and they went to the principal's office. Inside they saw another man around the same age as the principal.

"Hello, you must be Aichi Sendou," the man greeted. Aichi bowed his head in response.

"This is Mr. Fukumoto, he is the principal of the middle school branch of this academy," the principal introduced.

"It is nice to meet you," Aichi said.

"I heard about your excellent academic capabilities from Mr. Hidetaro and your teacher," Fukumoto began. "We agreed that you have very strong academic skills at a level higher than even middle school."

"Are you saying that you're going to put him in high school when he's so young?" Shu asked.

"No, since his doesn't have any memories and can't find his family. We were discussing a way to put less of a burden on you, Shu. There is a private school for the gifted that have dorms for all of the students to stay in. When the principal of that private school heard of his academic skills, he offered a free scholarship," Hidetaro explained.

"I want to stay with Shu," Aichi declined.

"That's right! He hasn't caused any problems for me," Shu assured.

"I know that you two have become close, but two children living together without an adult sounds troubling to me and another adult I've spoken to," Hidetaro responded.

"Shu is really responsible and he takes really good care of me. Please, I want to keep staying with Shu," Aichi pleaded.

"Even if Aichi left, I would be living alone. I think I enjoy living with someone instead of living alone," Shu added.

"We can't force him to leave. If they want to stay together, then we'll have to leave them be," Fukumoto said with a smile.

Aichi cheered and Shu looked relieved. "Return to class," Hidetaro ordered.

"Thank you," Aichi thanked bowing. He and Shu walked back to their classroom and sat in their seats.

Shu noticed that Valt wasn't in class yet and the bell was about to ring. " _He slept in again didn't he?"_ He thought with a sigh.

Valt ran into the classroom the second the bell rang and since he slid inside he ran into Aichi's desk. Aichi braced himself as Valt fell on the ground.

Shu watched, he didn't look surprised and sighed. "Are you okay?" Aichi asked nervously. His desk was pushed all the way to Shu's desk. Aichi's chair was still at its original place, but Valt was now in front of him on the floor. Everyone's attention was on Valt and Aichi making Aichi uncomfortable.

Everyone began laughing.

"Stop bumping into the new kid, Valt."

"I feel bad for him, getting placed into a grade 6 class and getting run over by Valt."

Aichi blushed and shook scared because of all the attention. Luckily, Shu was there and helped Valt up. The teacher walked into the commotion. "Watch where you're running next time. Actually, you should wake up early so that you wouldn't need to run into class," Shu said.

"I overslept, sorry," Valt apologized.

"I'm not hurt, are you?" Aichi asked.

Valt spun his arms. "I'm as good as ever," Valt answered.

Aichi pushed his desk back into place once Valt was out of the way. "Everyone be quiet. Class is starting!" The teacher said. Everyone sat at their seats as class began.

* * *

After class, Shu began his daily regular training regimen on the rooftop. Aichi sat on the bench on the side, he had a cloth in his hand and was cleaning Blaster Blade.

"Blaster Blade… let's keep being partners alright?" Aichi said. Shu heard him and smiled.

"Let it rip!" He exclaimed shooting his Beyblade again.

"Shu?" Aichi asked.

"Hm?" Shu responded while still focused.

"Why do you just shoot you Beyblade into the stadium alone?" Aichi asked.

Shu stood up straight. "Well, there are actually different reasons. You can improve accuracy, stabilization, arm positions, launch timing, efficiency; you can learn a lot just by shooting your Beyblade a few times," he explained.

"Oh, I see. That's why Spriggan moves differently sometimes," Aichi responded.

"Yeah, my Upper Shoot happens when I hold my launcher slightly tilted. It took me a lot of practice to master it," Shu said. He turned back to the stadium and launched again.

Aichi looked at Spryzen's movements carefully. "Spriggan's spin and movements are so pretty," Aichi commented happily.

"Pretty...?" Shu responded quietly before launching again.

"I heard people call you a 'prodigy'. But you work harder than anyone else to get this strong," Aichi commented.

"I think you're giving me too much credit," Shu responded. He picked up Spryzen from the stadium again and stood up. Aichi watched as Shu closed his eyes, before going back to his launch stance with his eyes still closed.

"3, 2, 1, let it rip," Shu said as he launched. Spryzen landed on the stadium and bounced a few times. At the beginning, it looked out of control, then Spryzen stabilized.

"That was amazing, Shu…!" Aichi cheered in awe.

"It's not that great. My left hand is too shaky, I can't launch accurately," Shu denied.

Aichi thought for a short while. "Hm… why not launch with your left hand?" He suggested.

"A left-handed launch… I haven't thought of that yet. Thank you for the idea, Aichi," Shu said happily. Aichi cheered happily. "I like to only show others my best, I hope you don't mind seeing me fail over and over again."

Aichi shook his head. "I won't say a word or laugh. Promise," he promised with a smile.

Shu giggled. "I'm fine if you laugh or judge me, I'll listen to any pointers you give me," he replied.

"I don't want to feel mean," Aichi said pouting. Shu laughed before returning to his stance. "Hm… won't it help your training if you battle against others? I have a feeling that meeting and battling different people will make you stronger," he thought.

"I enjoy training alone," Shu responded. He went back to his stance and practiced his Upper Shoot. Aichi tilted his head, he was scared that he said something to upset Shu.

Aichi looked down and took apart Blaster Blade's pieces. He carefully placed the pieces on his lap and began cleaning each piece. Shu walked to the other side of the small stadium and began practicing on that side.

Suddenly, Valt slammed open the rooftop door, which started Aichi causing him to drop Blaster Blade's parts. Shu turned to Valt as Aichi began picking up the pieces.

"Shu! Please battle with Kensuke!" Valt cried.

Shu kept his back turned. "I'm busy," he answered.

Aichi was looking around for the spin track. He was starting to get nervous. " _Where did it go?"_ He thought.

"Come on, Shu! Battle with Kensuke!" Valt pleaded.

"I'm practicing," Shu denied coldly. He launched Spryzen again.

"Then it'll be even better practice! Kensuke's Kerbeus is crazy strong and he said he wanted to fight you! Then he told me, he'll join the club…" Valt said.

Shu looked over to where Aichi was and saw that he was looked around, he figured that he was looking for something. "And I also had crazy fun battling Kensuke! C'mon Shu…!" Valt added.

"Okay. Let's battle," Shu agreed.

"I knew it!" Valt exclaimed. "Kensuke! Shu said he'll fight you!" He called.

Kensuke opened the door and Aichi noticed the spin track get pushed as the door opened. Kensuke didn't notice that he was about to step on the spin track. "Stop!" Aichi cried. Kensuke jumped and looked at him. Shu looked at the ground and saw the spin track. He walked over to Kensuke and picked it up.

"Here. Be more careful next time," Shu said holding it out to Aichi.

Aichi smiled and cried, "thank you, Shu!" She smiled before changing his expression back as he faced Kensuke.

"Shu Kurenai, I'm Kensuke Morikawa," Kensuke greeted with his brown puppet.

"I know. I saw the end of your battle with Valt," Shu answered. Aichi was tense, he noticed Shu put on his game face.

"You remember me?!" Kensuke exclaimed surprised.

"Yeah, of course," Shu answered.

"I've always wanted to fight you!" Kensuke said with his blue puppet.

"It's been my dream to fight you in the finals," Kensuke added with his brown puppet.

Shu smiled. "I'm flattered," he responded. Aichi watched at the side as they got into position.

"Alright! Let's start!" Valt cheered. "First battle!"

Aichi looked at Shu, he looked like he was recalling information and trying to think of a strategy. Then he turned to Kensuke, who looked uneasy, but was an expression full of resolve. Aichi watched nervously. " _Shu's opponent looks strong… But Shu looks more confident and calm,"_ he thought.

"Ready! Set!"

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!"

Kerbeus quickly occupied the center and Spryzen spun around at the ring. "So he is playing passively," Kensuke said.

" _I'm not sure about that…"_ Aichi thought.

"As I thought, you put up your guard," Shu commented.

"In a battle of defense, Kerbeus never loses!" Kensuke informed with his blue puppet.

"I'm not going to play passively. Go, Spriggan!" Shu said. Spryzen began attacking Kerbeus aggressively.

"Guard it, Kaiser Kerbeus!"

"Beat him down, Spriggan!"

"Bite into the stadium with you Press Driver!" Kensuke ordered with his blue puppet.

"Spryzen and Kerbeus, they're both awesome!" Valt cheered.

"Spryzen, finish this!" Spryzen collided with Kerbeus again and got pushed back.

"Yes! The longer the battle goes, the better Kerbeus'll do!" Kensuke cheered.

"I wonder about that," Shu responded. Kerbeus spin was beginning to get wobbly.

"No way!" Kensuke exclaimed.

"Spryzen can survive in long fights as well. That's a Balance type," Shu informed. Kerbeus soon stopped spinning.

"Spin Finish! Storm Spryzen wins! Shu has one point!" Valt announced. Kensuke was in awe. "That was so close, Kensuke. Just a little longer and you would've won."

"I don't need your pity! We still got the second battle!" Kensuke responded.

" _Hm… his character seemed to have changed,"_ Aichi thought.

"Alright! Let's start the second battle then!" Valt announced.

"We'll win this time for sure!" Kensuke declared.

"If you get heated up. You can't beat me," Shu said coldly. Aichi looked at Shu nervously. He knew that he was trying to get into Kensuke's head, but it wasn't like the Shu that he knew.

"Second battle!"

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!" Aichi and Valt were surprised to see Kerbeus slam into the wall of the stadium the second it landed.

"Attack right from the start! Attack, Kaiser Kerbeus!" Kensuke ordered.

"Brace yourself, Storm Spryzen!" Spryzen and Kerbeus collided causing Kerbeus to burst.

Shu picked up Spryzen and smiled. "It was a good battle," he commented.

"Don't try to act cool! Next time we fight, I'll win no matter what!" Kensuke exclaimed with the blue puppet.

"Would you… fight us again sometime…?" Kensuke asked passively with the brown puppet.

Aichi was scared after seeing Kensuke taking with two different personalities. He walked to Shu and held onto his arm. Kensuke was confused about Aichi's actions. "Um… which one of them is the real you?" Shu asked.

Kensuke blushed surprised after seeing Aichi so scared. "They're both Kensuke!" Valt said.

"Shut up!" Kensuke demanded with the blue puppet.

"Please, be quiet," Kensuke pleaded with the brown puppet. Aichi didn't move from his spot causing Kensuke to panic since everyone's attention was on him. He picked up Kerbeus and began running to the exit.

"Hey, Kensuke!" Valt called. "You're joining the BeyClub, right?!"

Valt sighed in defeat. "No way… He said he'd join…"

"Shu! You'll join right?!" Valt asked.

"I don't like joining groups." Shu declined.

Valt turned to the side. "How about you? Ai… Ai…" He asked. He was trying to think of the name causing his head to overheat.

Aichi was startled. "Aichi?" Shu informed. "I'll only join if Shu joins…" He muttered quietly sliding away from his sight.

"I'll only join if Shu joins…" He muttered quietly sliding away from his sight. Valt didn't even hear him.

"He said that he'll join if I join, but you're on your own Valt," Shu repeated. He began walking away and Aichi followed.

"What?!" Valt exclaimed. "What the heck, Shu! Just join the BeyClub!"

Aichi and Shu heard him from the staircase, even with the extra distance Valt was really loud. "Are you good friends with him?" Aichi asked.

"We use to be really good friends with another boy named, Xhaka when we were young. But things are different now," Shu explained.

Aichi tilted his head. "What happened?" He asked.

"We just slowly stopped spending time together, Xhaka left and I began my Beyblade training," Shu answered.

"Oh… but it must have been nice to have friends. I never had one before you," Aichi said.

"How about Kai?" Shu asked.

"I'm not sure. He mentioned that we were friends before and while I was with him… I felt a warm feeling," Aichi explained blushing.

Shu smiled. "That proves that you were friends before. We'll change him back to his normal self, okay?" He assured. Aichi nodded shyly. Shu and Aichi picked up their bags and began walking home.

* * *

Early Saturday morning, Shu went to the park to get some extra practice before the tournament. Aichi sat to the side with Blaster Blade.

"Aichi, do you want to help me train?" Shu asked.

Aichi turned to him surprised. "I won't be a good training partner," He answered.

"It's fine. Just come here and launch your Beyblade." Shu responded. Aichi nodded and got into position.

Shu's expression suddenly turned serious. "I want you to battle me like your battle with Kai and Takuto," he said.

Aichi shook his head. "I can't, I need to feel endangered," he responded. He looked closer at Shu and saw how intimidating he looked. _"This must be how it looks like when looking in the opponent's perspective,"_ Aichi gulped.

"Ready?" Shu asked almost angrily. Aichi nodded.

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!"

Blaster Blade began spinning a little slow, then sped up. Blaster Blade and Spryzen collided together and Blaster Blade burst upon the contact. Aichi knelt down to pick up Blaster Blade.

"That wasn't your full power. Again!" Shu demanded. Aichi jumped and began feeling scared.

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!" Blaster Blade burst again.

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!" Burst again.

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!" And again.

"Shouldn't you go to your match? Isn't it coming up soon?" Aichi asked with a shaken voice.

"Not until you battle me seriously," Shu responded. Aichi's face began turning red as if he was going to cry.

" _What am I feeling?"_ Aichi thought.

"We aren't leaving until you go all out," Shu reminded.

Aichi took a deep breath and activated his Psyqualia. " _Blaster Blade, I want to do this for Shu. I've never seen Shu like this,"_ Aichi thought.

" _I follow your command, My Vanguard. If you request that of me, I draw my power from you,"_ Blaster Blade answered.

Aichi opened his eyes and Psyqualia burned in them.

" _I might have overdone it, but I want to know if I can defeat him at full power,"_ Shu thought. "Ready?" He asked. Aichi nodded.

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!" Blaster Blade once again began slower then sped up. But this time, the spin was much quicker. Spryzen and Blaster Blade collided and they were pushed back to opposite sides of the stadium. A huge blast appeared upon collision.

"Go, Spriggan!" Shu shouted.

"Blaster Blade!" Aichi said. A powerful blue aura surrounded Blaster Blade. They collided again creating an even bigger blast. Spryzen was the only one that was pushed back.

"Spryzen! Counter Break!" Shu ordered. Spryzen spun back around at a high speed.

"Blaster Blade!" Blaster Blade began getting surrounded by electricity. When they collided another time, Spryzen burst.

Aichi dropped to the ground and was panting. Shu picked up Spryzen before walking to Aichi, holding out his hand for him.

Aichi looked up and saw Shu's warm smile. "Thank you, Aichi. I'm sorry if I scared you. I want to measure my own power," Shu said.

The tears that Aichi was holding back fell. Shu panicked after hearing Aichi's cries and seeing him rub his eyes to wipe his tears. "I'm really sorry, Aichi," Shu repeated.

"It's okay. But something felt familiar like this has happened before. I felt so scared," Aichi cried.

"Are you alright?" Shu asked concerned. Aichi nodded, but tears still fell down his face. Shu checked the time. "We still have plenty of time before my first match. Do you want me to take you anywhere?" Shu asked.

Aichi shook his head. "I don't want you to be late and I know that your battle is coming up soon," he answered. He wiped his tears off of his face. He can tell from the tone of Shu's voice that he was a little nervous about being late.

Shu smiled. "Okay, I'll leave you with Valt and his friends since you aren't allowed to go inside the prep room." He said.

Together they went to the site where the tournament was taking place. Valt, Kiyama, Kensuke, and the twins were standing at the front.

"Shu!" Valt called waving to Shu.

Shu and Aichi went to join the group. The twins were with Valt. Aichi was just a little older than them. "Hey Valt. I'm going to go to the waiting room now, can Aichi stay here with you guys?" Shu asked. Aichi was shy and hid behind Shu.

Kensuke stood beside Aichi and moved his hand puppets.

Aichi turned to the puppets and held onto Shu's shirt tighter. "Let's play!" One of the puppets said enthusiastically. Aichi remained at his spot behind Shu. Kensuke looked defeated.

"I'll leave him with you then," Shu said.

Aichi let go of Shu's shirt to let him leave. He looked scared and self-conscious. Toko and Nika stepped up. "Come on, you can't see from all the way back there!" Nika said. They each pulled one of Aichi's arms and towards the front.

"Now you'll have a front row seat to Shu's battle," Toko added enthusiastically. Aichi nodded and looked forward. After a few battles, Shu was up.

"Shu!" The audience cried loudly. Aichi turned to them surprised.

"Shu is really popular," Aichi commented.

" _The Spin Emperor, Shu Kurenai!"_ The caster announced.

"Go, Shu!"

Shu never turned back to look at them, he was serious. " _He is the same for every battle,"_ Aichi thought.

"Ready, set!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Let it rip!"

In the first collision, Shu burst his opponent's Beyblade. "Shu won!" Nika and Toko cheered. They jumped for joy.

Shu turned to Aichi and they smiled at each other. Shu returned to the waiting room to leave to the audience section. "Valt, shouldn't you get going to the waiting room? Don't you have two matches today?" Kiyama asked.

Valt jumped. "Oh, no!" He cried. He ran through the crowd and towards the waiting room entrance. Aichi turned to the door where Valt entered and soon Shu walked outside. It was too crowded for Shu to get to the front so he just stood at the back.

" _Okay! Moving on to the next battle! Daina Kurogami verses Valt Aoi."_

Kensuke looked at Aichi and saw that he was tippy toeing and looking backward. Kensuke turned to look at what he was looking at and saw Shu. Kensuke moved his puppets frantically to attract Shu's attention before signaling him to come. Aichi looked at Kensuke surprised and saw Shu walking to them.

"Thank you…" Aichi thanked quietly. Kensuke smiled and moved his puppets.

Shu soon reached the group. "Is something wrong?" He asked. Aichi smiled and shook his head. They looked at the stadium as the battle was about to start.

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!"

* * *

After the final match of the day, everyone began leaving. "I hope Diana joins the Beyclub!" Valt said in anticipation.

"Why don't you join the club, Aichi? It's better than watching me train," Shu suggested. Aichi shook his head scared.

"I want to stay with you," Aichi said quietly. Kensuke walked to Aichi with his puppets. He knew Aichi was scared of them for some reason.

"Hello, I'm Besu. If I scared you I'm really sorry," Kensuke apologized with his brown puppet.

"My name is Keru and you better remember it!" Kensuke exclaimed with his blue puppet.

"Keru, do you happen to have another thing to say?" Besu asked.

Keru crossed his arms and turned away. "I'm sorry."

Kensuke looked at Aichi's reaction. "Um… you didn't do anything wrong. I don't know why, but seeing someone suddenly change their personalities makes me nervous," he explained.

Besu looked down. "Oh… so we can't be friends?" He asked.

Aichi tensed up. "I'm sorry… I need some time," He responded.

"I guess we'll get going then," Shu said. Aichi nodded and followed him as he began walking.

"Bye Shu and Aichi!"

Aichi and Shu walked home. "Shu…" Aichi muttered.

"What is it?" Shu asked.

"It's weird. We haven't seen Kai or Takuto for a while," Aichi pointed out. He sounded nervous.

"Are you worried about him?" Shu asked. Aichi turned the Shu. "Kai, I mean," Aichi nodded his head shyly.

Blaster Blade was in his hand and Aichi looked at it. "Um… thank you for giving me this Blaster Blade, Shu," he thanked.

Shu looked confused and surprised. "Aichi… I'm not the person that gave that to you," he denied.

Aichi looked at him confused. "But… That is one of the few memories I know," he responded sadly.

Shu smiled and held onto Aichi's shoulders, he knelt down to look up at his face. "I'm sure you'll find that person and remember everything soon, maybe you've already met him," he assured.

Aichi nodded and smiled. Shu stood back up. "Let's hurry back okay?" Shu asked. Aichi nodded enthusiastically.

* * *

 **~After Dinner~**

"I'm going to go to the Bey Stadiums downstairs to practice," Shu informed.

Aichi jumped up from his seat. "I'm coming too!" He responded.

"I'm going to practice my left-handed launch. You'll see a lot of failed launches," Shu warned.

"I still want to watch!" Aichi responded.

"Okay, then. Let's go," Shu said with a smile. Aichi nodded, then left the room.

Shu looked awkward positioning himself on his other side. Shu launched Spryzen and it was completely unstable and lacked speed. It made 2 full rotations before falling to the side. "Hm… I need to get used to pulling it with my left hand first…" He muttered to himself. Aichi watched as Shu got into position without Spryzen attached to the launcher.

"Shu, why are you launching without Spryzen?" Aichi asked.

"I'm getting used to pulling the string with my left hand," Shu answered. Aichi sat at the side on a small bench watching Shu train.

It was getting late, Shu wiped his forehead full of sweat while looking at the time. "Hey, Aichi…" he turned to the side to see Aichi asleep on the bench. Shu smiled and picked up Spryzen before walking to Aichi.

He coaxed Aichi onto his back before heading back to his apartment room. He placed Aichi on the bed and tucked him in before walking into the washroom to shower.

Meanwhile, Aichi was having a good dream.

"Why are your clothes dirty? Did you lose a fight?" A boy snickered.

After silence, he spoke again. "Here, I'll give you this!"

Aichi looked up to see the person but wasn't able to make out who. He reached out and took the card that the boy was holding out. _"Who are you?"_ Aichi thought.

"He's a pretty strong swordsman, so come on cheer up already! Picture yourself big and strong like the warrior on that card I just gave you!"

"I-I'll get stronger?" Aichi asked.

"Hahaha… Yeah, it's hard at first, but when you can imagine it… His strength will be yours. Let your imagination be your power!"

Aichi woke up to see that it was dark, he turned to the clock and saw that it was 3:00 AM. He walked outside the room and saw Shu on the couch asleep with a blanket on the floor. Aichi walked over to Shu and pulled the fallen blanket back onto him.

"You've done a lot, for me Shu… I know I can be a burden on you, so thank you." Aichi said quietly. He leaned in slowly, he got so close to him that he can feel his breath. Aichi wanted to hug Shu, but he was nervous that Shu would wake up. He walked back to Shu's room and laid on the bed before falling back asleep.

* * *

 **Hey, guys!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **I just started grade 11 and I'm actually still working on writing chapter 8. Since it is getting closer to October 9, 2017, which is the planned release date of that chapter. I'm really sorry if I need to delay a chapter or two if I can't catch up because of homework. I'm starting to notice how long each chapter takes to write. Anyways, I hope you guys understand.**

 **The next chapter will be released on September 15, 2017.**


	5. The Injury

A week has passed and Shu successfully qualified for the quarterfinals. Shu and Aichi walked to school together earlier than usual because Shu was asked to go to the principal's office before class began. "Thanks for coming to school earlier today, Aichi. Mr. Hidetaro wanted to talk to me about something," Shu thanked as they walked through the gates of the school.

Aichi shook his head. "It's okay. I don't mind," he responded happily. "Shu, why were you called to the principal's office? You aren't in trouble are you?" He asked in wonder.

"I don't think it's about that," Shu answered. He walked into Hidetaro's office while Aichi waited outside.

"Mr. Hidetaro, is there something you need?" Shu asked.

"I called you here to ask you about Sendou. This is more about reassurance for the school board and teachers. I am sure you are taking care of him just fine," Hidetaro responded.

"Aichi still doesn't have any memories of his past, but I've been making sure he eats and everything," Shu answered.

Hidetaro put his hands together and on the table. "I completely trust you when saying that, but for reassurance, the school board highly recommends that a doctor checks up on him and provide a report of his physical and mental health every month," he explained.

"I understand. I'll take him there later today," Shu responded.

"You may leave now," Hidetaro said.

Shu bowed his head before leaving the office. When he opened the door, he found Aichi standing right outside looking nervous. He was twiddling his fingers with shaky hands. "What's wrong, Aichi?" Shu asked.

"Why did the principal need you? Is it because I did something?" Aichi asked nervously. He sounded guilty even though he didn't know what Shu and Mr. Hidetaro were talking about inside the office.

Shu laughed making Aichi confused. "Mr. Hidetaro wanted to know how you were doing. After school, we'll have to go to the doctors for a check-up," he explained.

"Going to the doctors?" Aichi asked as they were walking to class.

"Yeah, the school board wants to make sure you're healthy," Shu answered.

"Won't that take time off of your training?" Aichi asked.

"It's not a big deal. It shouldn't take a lot of time anyway," Shu responded. They walked into the classroom and sat in their seats. Aichi noticed that Valt wasn't at school yet. The bell rang, but instead of Valt's usual loud entrance, he sadly walked inside.

The teacher walked into the classroom and Valt slowly walked to his seat and sat down. "Good morning class. Open your textbooks to page 39."

Aichi looked over at Valt to see that he wasn't even focusing or listening to what the teacher was saying. " _Did something happen?"_ Aichi thought.

"Sendou, please explain to the class how you would answer this question," the teacher said. Aichi jumped and looked at the board to see a word problem on it. Aichi walked up to the board shyly and began working it out while explaining his steps nervously.

When lunch started, the teacher pulled Shu to the side. Shu was asked to help the teacher carry some class material from the teacher office. While waiting for Shu, Aichi pushed their desks together and sat in his seat waiting with their lunches.

" _Shu's friend… He wasn't acting like himself... he wasn't as energetic and was much more out of touch than usual,"_ Aichi thought. Shu soon returned to the classroom carrying worksheets for the class.

"Shu!" Aichi called. Shu walked over to him. Aichi held out the lunch box to him.

"You didn't have to wait for me to get back before eating," Shu responded.

Aichi smiled. "I wanted to enjoy eating with you," he answered happily. They both ate in the classroom together when suddenly, Blaster Blade began glowing. Aichi felt a sensation and took Blaster Blade out from his Beyblade holder.

Aichi looked at him. "What is it, Aichi?" Shu asked.

"Blaster Blade is trying to tell me something," Aichi informed. His Psyqualia activated. "What's wrong, Blaster Blade?" He asked dazed.

Shu looked around and it didn't seem like their classmates noticed.

" _My Vanguard, the dark energy is growing. Void and Link Joker has been taking time to accumulate more dark power. When an opportunity shows itself, they will act with more power than before,"_ Blaster Blade informed.

"I understand," Aichi responded. "Thank you for telling me, Blaster Blade," he thanked. Blaster Blade dimmed until the light completely disappeared. Aichi's Psyqualia deactivated and he looked around.

"Are you back?" Shu asked. Aichi nodded. "What did Blaster Blade have to say?" He asked.

"He told me that Void and Link Joker are gathering more dark power and are waiting for the opportunity to battle us when we are at our weakest," Aichi explained sadly.

Shu felt the tension and fear from Aichi. "You don't need to worry, they may be getting stronger, but we are getting stronger too," he assured. Aichi nodded before continuing to eat again. He placed Blaster Blade on the side of his table and smiled gently.

"Wow! I have never seen that Beyblade before!" One of his classmates exclaimed snatching Blaster Blade from the table. Aichi instinctively tried to grab it back but wasn't able to reach.

"Please give him back," Aichi pleaded crying.

"Shu, have you seen something so cool?" The kid asked.

Shu stood up and took Blaster Blade into his hands. "Yeah, his Beyblade is amazing," he agreed. He handed Blaster Blade back to Aichi, causing Aichi to look up at Shu with admiration.

"Thank you, Shu," Aichi thanked happily. He put Blaster Blade safely back inside the holder on his belt.

* * *

After finishing their lunch, they went up to the rooftop and found that Valt's BeyClub were practicing there. After seeing that the rooftop was occupied, Shu turned to walk back down the stairs. Before he can leave, Aichi pulled on his shirt.

"What's wrong?" Shu asked turning around to face Aichi.

"It's just that, your friend… I think he needs your help. He wasn't acting like himself today and… maybe you can give him some advice," Aichi suggested nervously.

"Tell me, who is the real Valt?" Shu asked.

Aichi shuttered and scratched his cheek. "Well… I don't really know him well… but I can tell that he is high-spirited and confident…" he answered shyly.

Shu smiled and ruffled his hair. "I'll do what I can, alright? But not right now," he agreed. He lifted his hand from Aichi, turned and began walking down the stairs. Aichi touched his head and evened out his hair. He stayed there to see what was happening in the BeyClub after hearing a yelling.

"Ugh! I can't get Wakiya outta my head! Boss is Wakiya! Ah! Everyone is Wakiya!" Valt cried.

"Come on! Forget about yesterday. You should just practice hard today," Kiyama said to try to calm down Valt.

"Oh yeah, practice!" Valt responded. "I'll take out my anger with a Beybattle! And I've gotta perfect the Flash Shot! Everyone, battle with me! I wanna master the Flash Shot! If I can't, I'll lose to Wakiya. You'll practice with me right?"

Kiyama walked to Valt and put his hands on his shoulders. "Valt, are we just for practice?" He asked. Valt looked confused. "Is the BeyClub just about you?!" He added loudly.

"What's with you, boss?" Daina asked.

"It's rare for you to be so direct…" Kensuke agreed.

"Shut it!" Kiyama demanded.

"You don't get it, boss!" Valt exclaimed. "Wakiya didn't think of us as real opponents right from the get-go! I won't let him get away with it. I don't wanna be a loser, and neither does Valkyrie."

Kiyama began walking away. "I'm not gonna battle you when you're like this," he declined.

"Kensuke! Daina!"

"Shouldn't we eat before class starts?" Daina asked before also walking away.

"Right!" Kensuke agreed before falling Daina. "See ya, Valt!"

"Alright! Fine then! I'll practice by myself!" Valt shouted angrily. He stomped to the BeyStadium and got into position.

"Flash Shot!" He exclaimed as he shot. Valkyrie bumped into the wall and stopped spinning. He shot Valkyrie countless times but failed the shot every time. Aichi sat to the side of the door out of Valt's sight. He sat against the wall curled up. He also covered his ears and closed his eyes tight. He was trying to quiet Valkyrie's cries with his head throbbing from the relentless cries.

Kiyama, Daina, and Kensuke walked inside the staircase to see Aichi fall to the side. He was groaning. "Hey, kid! Are you alright?!" Kiyama exclaimed in panic. He lifted Aichi from the floor and held him comfortingly.

"Where is Shu?" Besu asked.

"Aren't you always with him?" Keru added.

Daina began walking down the stairs. "I'll go find him, you guys take him to the infirmary," he commanded. Kiyama carried Aichi in his arms and lifted him up. Aichi was still covering his ears and kept his eyes closed tight.

When they reached the infirmary, Kiyama placed Aichi on a bed so that the nurse can check on him. Aichi had already fallen unconscious on the way there. "There is nothing wrong with him physically. Something must have happened to him internally," the nurse informed. She pulled the blanket over Aichi. "Let him rest here for now. He head is a little warm, so I'll get a wet cloth to put on his head," she added.

Shu soon walked into the room with Daina. "Kiyama, Kensuke. What happened?" Shu asked. He stood at Aichi's bedside and looked at him.

"We don't know and neither does the nurse," Kiyama answered.

"I see," Shu responded. He looked at Aichi worried.

" _I have never seen Shu like this,"_ they all thought.

Aichi slowly opened his eyes after sensing Spriggan nearby. "Shu…" he muttered.

"What happened? Tell me." Shu asked.

"I was hearing Valkyrie's cries, it felt in pain. I guess when I heard the cries, my head began hurting," Aichi explained.

"Valkyrie's cries?" Kensuke, Kiyama, and Diana asked together.

"Valt was shooting with so much anger and hatred. That made Valkyrie unhappy and pained," Aichi added.

"I understand. You rest up alright?" Shu asked. Aichi nodded and fell asleep. Shu tucked Aichi in tightly to keep him warm.

"Shu, can we talk after class?" Kiyama asked.

"Sure, what for?" Shu agreed.

"It's about Valt," Kiyama answered. They walked outside of the infirmary when the bell rang signaling the end of the lunch break. The nurse walked into the infirmary and put her hand on Aichi's head. It seemed like his temperature was back to normal, but she placed the cloth on his head anyways.

After their last class, Shu talked with Kiyama. After talking to him, Shu walked back to the classroom to pick up his and Aichi's bag before heading over to the infirmary to pick up Aichi. He opened the door to the infirmary and saw that Aichi was still asleep.

"Hello, are you here to take him home?" The nurse asked.

"Yes, I am," Shu answered bowing his head slightly. He walked over to Aichi and he slowly opened his eyes after sensing Spriggan again. "Are you feeling better?" Shu asked.

Aichi nodded before sitting up. "Are you feeling strong enough to walk?" He asked.

"I'm better," Aichi assured with a smile. He stood up.

"Take care." The nurse said as they left.

They left the school and walked to the park for Shu's daily training. He was launching his Beyblade like he always did. Nika and Toko spotted Shu from the sidewalk. "Oh, Shu!" They called. Shu didn't hear them and took his stance. Aichi noticed them and turned to them.

Nika and Toko ran to Shu and Nika accidentally tripped as Shu was about to launch. "Shu! Watch out!" Aichi cried.

Shu was already pulling the string and Nika bumped into his arm. Aichi heard a grunt from Shu knowing that he was definitely injured. Nika was pushed back to a standing position because she hit Shu's arm.

"Sorry!" Nike cried.

"Jeez, be careful, Nika," Toko said. Aichi watched frightened, he remembered that Link Joker and Void were waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Shu leaned down to pick up Spriggan before turning to the twins. "Are you hurt?" Shu asked.

"No, I'm fine!" Nika assured.

"We interrupted you, huh?" Toko added.

"Don't worry about it. Oh yea, where is Valt?" Shu asked.

"He went to the BeyClub," Toko answered.

"Then can you ask him something for me?" Shu asked.

"Sure! What is it?" Toko agreed enthusiastically.

"Ask him if Valkyrie is happy," Shu answered. The twins looked at each other before turning back to him. They soon left Shu to his training, but he didn't shoot instead he packed up and picked up his bag.

"How about we go to the clinic for your checkup now?" Shu suggested. He looked over at Aichi who looked scared and nervous.

"Shu… Your arm hurts, doesn't it?" Aichi asked worriedly.

"It's just a little sore. It's not a big deal," Shu assured.

"But… shouldn't you get it checked out?" Aichi suggested nervously. He looked down trying not to make eye contact with Shu.

"I'll go to the doctors tomorrow," Shu responded.

"But, we're already going today and if you leave it off for too long... what if it gets worse?" Aichi asked panicked.

Shu patted his head. "I can wait tomorrow, okay?" He answered. The left the park and to the clinic. They waited for a little while before it was Aichi's turn to go in. Inside the doctor checked his health, it didn't take too long.

"Um… excuse me," Aichi said nervously nearing the end of the checkup.

"Yes?" The doctor responded.

"Could you check on my friend? Well… he injured his shoulder today… and…" Aichi requested nervously.

The doctor smiled. "The checkup went by so quickly, I think I'll have the time to check on his arm," he agreed. Aichi's face brightened and he nodded happily.

Once Aichi's checkup was over, the doctor inputted all the information in his computer. "All that is left for you to finish is a blood test. Please follow that nurse," The doctor informed.

"A blood test…?" Aichi asked frightened.

Shu smiled. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt too much. It'll be okay, alright?" He assured. They began following the nurse to another room.

"Actually, Sendou mentioned that your arm was feeling sore, I'll check up on it right now," the doctor said.

"Alright," Shu responded calmly. But he was definitely a little irritated. Aichi walked with the nurse to take his blood test.

After taking four tubs of blood, Aichi wasn't feeling too well. "Sit down and drink a lot of water," the nurse said. She handed him a cup of warm water. Aichi was really dizzy and pale.

"Thank you," Aichi thanked.

"You'll have to wait for a while, I was told that your friend was taken to have an x-ray on his shoulder," the nurse informed.

"Is the injury that severe?" Aichi asked nervously.

"As long as he rests his shoulder, he should make a full recovery in time," the nurse assured. Aichi nodded sadly.

* * *

When Shu was done with his x-ray, he walked into the waiting room and saw that Aichi was there asleep with a bandage on the arm that they took his blood from.

"Aichi, wake up. Time to go," Shu said while shaking Aichi.

Aichi slowly opened his eyes. "Shu…" he muttered in a daze. Shu knew that something was in his mind.

"Is something wrong?" Shu asked.

"I'm sorry for telling the doctor about your shoulder…" Aichi apologized sincerely.

Shu smiled. "What are you talking about? I should be the one that should be apologizing. If you hadn't told the doctor, then the injury probably would have got worse," he responded. "I'm sorry, I got angry at you. I just didn't think about why you would tell them. So thank you, Aichi," he added.

Aichi shook his head. "I was only worried about you," he said.

"Anyways, are you feeling better? The nurses told me that you didn't look too good after taking your blood test," Shu asked.

"I'm alright," Aichi assured while standing up.

"I'll have to come back tomorrow to see the results. I hope you don't mind coming to training and back here tomorrow." Shu said.

"But… shouldn't you get some rest?" Aichi asked concerned.

"I need to continue training," Shu responded.

"But… what if your arm gets worse and you can't-" Aichi said.

Shu put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, alright? I'll be fine. After the tournament, I'll take all the time I need to rest," he assured.

Aichi looked down shyly. "Okay…" he replied. They walked outside of the clinic together.

When they got outside, they saw Kai walking on the sidewalk. After seeing Aichi and Shu, he stopped and turned to them. Aichi slipped behind Shu scared after seeing Kai's eyes.

Kai looked up. "A hospital…? An injury?" He asked as he turned back to them. Shu and Aichi stayed silent.

"Battle me, Shu Kurenai," Kai demanded. Aichi shook his head to snap out of his fear.

"I'll battle-" Shu said.

"I'm going to battle you!" Aichi exclaimed confidently. He stood in front of Shu with his launcher and Blaster Blade in his hands.

"I'm not challenging you, Aichi. I'm challenging him," Kai denied.

"I'll battle you," Shu said. He extended his arm between Aichi and Kai. Kai walked ahead and Aichi and Shu followed.

"Shu, I believe you can do it," Aichi cheered. "Your shoulder…" he whispered.

"It doesn't hurt too much. I'll be alright," Shu repeated quietly. They walked to the stadium at the park, Aichi gave Shu his strength and they both got into position.

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!" Shu struggled with the pain of his shoulder. He tried to hide the pain, but Kai noticed him hold his shoulder for a second. He also noticed the weaker spin on Spriggan.

"I told Aichi this and I'll say this to you too. You aren't going to win if you aren't at your best," Kai said. Dragonic Overlord was pushing Spriggan around.

"I'm not going to let Aichi down!" Shu declared. His aura flared and Spriggan's strength grew which allowed Spiggan to began pushing Dragonic Overlord back.

Kai grinned for the first time. "You are similar to him. Unfortunately for you, you have the quality that makes him weak," he said.

"I don't know what happened to him before I met him. But seeing him as his real self for that small moment, I can tell that he is strong. And him defeating you proves it," Shu replied. Spriggan and Dragonic Overlord were both pushed back. "That's it! Spriggan, Counter Break!"

"Dragonic Overlord, Eternal Flame!"

They both clashed, Kai was surprised when he saw Aichi's spirit emerge from Spriggan. That was when Dragonic Overlord burst. "Yes!" Shu cheered when he won.

Kai cried as Link Joker seemed to have started to retreat from him. That caused Takuto, who was at the Tatsunagi Building, feel a strange sensation, but he wasn't sure what caused it.

Aichi soon woke up and saw Kai and Shu in pain.

"Shu! Does your should hurt more?" Aichi asked concerned.

"No, I'm fine," Shu assured.

Aichi then ran to Kai. Aichi was forcefully knocked back by his arm. "Kai!"

"Don't come close to me!" Kai shouted. He stood up clenching his head. Aichi still saw the red marks on his face.

"Are you okay, Kai?" Aichi asked worriedly. He kept his distance from him.

Kai began walking away still looking in pain. Once he left, Aichi turned to Shu who was holding his shoulder.

"Shu… Does your shoulder hurt too much?" Aichi asked.

Shu shook his head. "It's nothing I can't handle. I'll be fine," He answered. He looked down at Aichi and saw that he had a very worried face. Shu ruffled his hair with his left hand. "Don't look at me like that. Let's get home alright?" He suggested. Aichi nodded. They walked together back home.

* * *

At the Tatsunagi Building, Kai walked inside. He acted emotionless similar to the way he used to, while he was still completely controlled by Takuto. He went to the library, where he knew Takuto was. He stood outside and listened to Takuto speak with Void.

"When should I begin to make myself active again?" Takuto asked.

"You've been consuming energy from me for quite a while, I'll leave the decision of when, up to you," Void answered.

"I've asked Toshiki Kai to look for an opening," Takuto responded.

"I'm expecting results, Link Joker. If you fail me once again, I'll have to find a better, stronger agent," Void warned.

"Yes, Void," Takuto answered. After feeling Void's presence leaving, Kai walked in. Takuto turned to him. "Did you discover anything?" Takuto asked.

"I learned that Shu Kurenai had injured his shoulder," Kai informed.

"Really now? How severe is that injury?" Takuto asked intrigued.

"I can't say for sure, but they walked out of a clinic and I happened to hear them talk about it." Kai explained.

"Hm… that is good news. Looks like I can get started earlier than I thought," Takuto said thinking to himself. "You can leave. It may be easy picking, but I can't afford to let my guard down now."

Kai left the room. "The atmosphere was different than before. Maybe he… no impossible. I'm overthinking things," Takuto muttered to himself.

Kai chuckled to himself. " _I can't defeat Shu Kurenai while he's using Aichi's powers. By using Link Joker and Void to separate them and Aichi's trust for me, I can obtain the power I've been searching for,"_ he thought. He had a room in the Tatsunagi Building and he stayed there for a while. He laid on his bed thinking over his plan.

"I guess I should be thankful of Shu Kurenai for take away Link Joker's control over me," Kai said to himself quietly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aichi and Shu reached their home. Shu's arm was still very sore. "Shu, is there anything I can do to help?" Aichi asked sounding desperate.

"I'll be fine. I'll go cook right now," Shu assured.

"I'll help!" Aichi suggested enthusiastically.

"No, you should wash up for bed. I'll take care of it," Shu denied.

"Okay, Shu. Don't push your shoulder too much, okay?" Aichi responded worriedly.

"I will," Shu agreed. Aichi walked into the bathroom. As Shu was working on the food, his shoulder really hurt and he switched the pan to his left hand. Aichi soon finished washing up and walked outside to see Shu cooking with his left hand.

Aichi saw Spriggan on the table and picked it up. "Can I trust you to make sure he doesn't push himself?" He asked. He heard a response and smiled before putting it back on the table.

The next day, when they were at the gate Valt ran to them from outside the gate. "Shu!" Valt called. They turned to see Valt.

"You're not late, surprising," Shu responded.

"You talked with Nika yesterday?" Valt asked.

"Yea," Shu answered.

"Valkyrie's happy," Valt informed with a smile.

"Is he?" Shu asked.

"So let me show you how well he's doing! Come to the BeyClub after school! Let's battle!" Valt challenged.

"Shu…" Aichi whispered. Shu turned to Aichi to see him shaking his head before turning back to Valt seeing him excited.

"Well, I…" Shu responded.

"Come on! You know, when I lost to Wakiya, I was so mad I couldn't stop thinking about him. And so I wasn't thinking about Valkyrie… It wasn't like me at all," Valt explained.

Aichi looked at Valkyrie in Valt's hand and listened to his voice. " _I'm happy to hear you're happy,"_ Aichi said with a smile.

"It sure wasn't," Shu agreed. Valt looked at him confused. "You, thinking?" Shu joked.

"Hey, watch it!" Valt exclaimed.

"Alright, after school then?" Shu agreed.

"Yes!" Valt cheered jumping in the air. They walked into the classroom altogether. Valt looked really happy and he seemed like his normal self.

"Your shoulder, Shu," Aichi said.

"It's just one battle. I'll use a different position so it puts less strain on my shoulder." Shu responded. Aichi nodded and sat in his seat.

After school, Shu and Aichi walked to the rooftop and found the BeyClub. "There's Shu!" Valt cheered as Shu walked through the doors. "Hurry! Let's battle already!"

"It's almost like he never met Wakiya," Kiyama commented.

"What happened to your winning obsession?" Daina added.

"Of course I wanna win! He was making fun of me, so I got really mad all by myself… I left Valkyrie behind! You can't battle by yourself! It's all about the Bey and the Blader! And now with the BeyClub, and more members, I have a lot of fun with Beys!" Valt explained as his face was getting redder and redder. Aichi hid behind Shu as Valt's head exploded.

"Valt!"

"Bro!"

"Oh man, he thought too hard!" Kiyama exclaimed.

"Cool him down!" Besu exclaimed.

"Get him some water!" Keru added.

"It's because he was being serious! Jeez…" Daina commented. Aichi turned to Shu and saw his expression change into a smile.

"At least his Beyblade is happy," Aichi said after hearing Valkyrie's voice.

"Right," Shu replied. He walked to the BeyStadium and get ready to battle Valt.

"First Battle!" At the beginning, Shu was standing in his regular position, but after looking at Aichi's worried expression, he changed positions. He put his knee in front and turned his hip to the side to give more support for his shoulder. Everyone looked shocked.

"Shu…?" Valt said.

"His form is different," Daina pointed out.

"Is this a new technique?!" Besu exclaimed.

"Is Shu even stronger now?!" Keru added.

"Who knows? Just trying things out," Shu responded. He looked like he wasn't in pain at all.

"Shu's so cool!" Valt cheered. "But Valkyrie and I, we'll show you how strong we are together!"

"Ready! Set! 3! 2! 1! Let it rip!"

Shu spun his hips so he can get more strength while putting less of a burden on his shoulder. Kensuke looked at Aichi to see that he was filled with worry.

"Is something wrong?" Keru asked.

Aichi turned to Kensuke and looked down. He nodded slightly. His face was red like he was about to cry. His eyes were glistening with tears. Kensuke used Kesu to pat Aichi's back. "You should come to the puppet show today!" Besu suggested with aggression.

"If you have the time," Keru added shyly. Shu and Valt's battle concluded with Valkyrie bursting.

Shu picked up Spriggan and walked to the exit. "I'll go…" Aichi answered shyly before following Shu.

While at the gates, Aichi walked in front of Shu to stop him from walking. Shu patiently waited to hear what he wanted to say. "Um… Shu. I told Kensuke that I would go to his puppet show," Aichi informed. "Is it okay if I go?" He asked while twiddling his fingers.

"You can go while I see the x-rays of my shoulder," Shu responded ruffling his head. "Why are you so nervous around me now? I'm sorry if I have been hard on you lately," Shu apologized.

Aichi shook his head. "You gave me a warm home to stay in and you treat me like I'm part of your family. No matter how hard you are to me, I'll never be scared of you," he explained. He sounded completely serious.

"I'll come pick you up after seeing the results then?" Shu asked. Aichi smiled and nodded. Shu did some training with his left-handed launch. Since there would be less strain and pressure on his right shoulder, Aichi sat there calmly.

Aichi watched Shu fail with his left-handed launch every time. Shu wiped the sweat off of his forehead. Aichi looked through Shu's bag and pulled out a towel and water bottle.

"Here, Shu," Aichi said. He handed the towel to Shu first.

"Thank you," Shu thanked. He wiped his sweat off with the towel and took a drink of water. Shu looked at the time on a clock at the park. "I need to get to my appointment soon. I'll drop you off first," he informed.

"Okay," Aichi agreed. "You know, Shu," he began, he paused what he was going to say to smile.

'What is it?" Shu asked.

"Well. Today, Valkyrie sounded really happy. That proved that Valt was back to his old self. I think what you told him really helped," Aichi explained.

"I didn't tell him anything. I just asked the twins to ask him a simple question," Shu corrected.

"Right, you really helped him change his mindset. It's just that, it makes me feel happy to see that you're helping your friend out in such subtle ways. It feels familiar to me for some reason," Aichi added.

"It was nothing really..." Shu responded scratching his head.

"You're amazing, Shu!" Aichi commented happily as they reached the BeyMall. When they reached the room where Kensuke was performing, they were greeted by Kensuke's mom. As she approached them, Aichi slid behind Shu subtly.

"Welcome! Oh! You're from Kensuke's school right, Shu Kurenai? Ken has been talking about you a lot," she greeted.

"Does he really? That's flattering," Shu responded politely.

"Are you here to see the puppet show?" She asked.

"Actually, I'm here to drop him off. I have somewhere to get to, so I'll come back to pick him up after I'm done," he explained moving to the side to reveal Aichi. Kensuke's mom squatted down to see Aichi eye to eye.

"Hello, my name is Aichi," Aichi greeted bowing his head. He tried to hide his face as much as possible.

"Let's have fun while Shu does what he needs to do alright?" She asked. Aichi nodded shyly.

"I'll get going then," Shu said. He put his hand on Aichi's head. "Wait here for me alright?" he asked. Aichi nodded before giving him a hug. Shu turned and left.

"You two are close aren't you?" Kensuke's mom commented. Aichi jumped and nodded nervously.

"Shu takes care of me and everything... he is always there for me..." he responded quietly. "He's amazing... he can manage everything even without his parents around," he added passionately.

"Two children living together alone. Hm… where was he going?" She asked. Aichi looked away nervously. "Sorry if I'm intruding. Nevermind, just enjoy the show," she said while guiding Aichi to where the other kids were waiting. They were all waiting for the show to start with anticipation.

"He's going to the doctor. He injured his shoulder, but he says that he needs to continue training," he explained.

"How's this? How about you two stay for dinner today?" She suggested.

"I'm not sure," Aichi responded.

"We'll ask Shu when he comes back alright?" She said. Aichi nodded. He sat in the audience, Kensuke's mom went to the stage with Kensuke holding puppets.

Kensuke looked happy when he saw Aichi in the crowd, the lights dimmed as the show began.

* * *

 **Merry Christmas, guys!**

 **It's been a while, hasn't it? Thanks for this chapter, I'm just about finished writing chapter 10. Honestly, I'm not sure how long this story will last, but I really wanted to post today because it is Christmas! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll have another one up in New Years. Again, thanks for waiting for a long time for this chapter and I will keep up the work!**


	6. The Defeat

_Once upon a time, there was a young prince. He lived in a giant castle and lived a life without any worry. He had everything he needed. He was loved by everyone inside and outside of the castle. He was happy with what his life was. He wanted it to stay that way forever. But one day, a dragon attacked the castle and burned it to the ground. Almost everyone residing in the castle wasn't able to escape. No one survived, except the prince who miraculously managed to stay alive. The king and queen had protected him from the destruction and ruin the best that can, giving their lives to protect their precious child._

 _Sadly, he wasn't able to escape completely unscathed. When he regained consciousness, he was in a bed covered in bandages. And also…_

" _Where am I…? Who am I…?" The prince muttered._

 _A man entered the room. "Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?" The man asked._

" _I'm feeling good," the prince answered shyly. "What happened? How did I get here?" He asked flustered._

" _Calm down, you're safe here. I found you just outside the castle walls, you had a lot of burns so I treated them," the man answered._

" _Really? What was I doing there? I don't remember..." the prince asked sounding lost._

" _You seemed to have been caught up in the attack," the man guessed._

" _Attack?" The prince responded._

" _Yes, a dragon attacked the castle. Don't you remember any of this? Do you know who you are?" The man asked._

 _The prince shook his head. "I can't remember anything," he answered sadly._

" _You'll find out who you are soon. I'm sure of it," the man assured with a smile._

 _"Really?" The prince asked with his spirits lifted._

 _"I''m sure of it. I will help you," the man answered. He gave the prince a soft smile after seeing the prince's lifted spirits._

 _"Thank you. So what's your name?" The prince asked._

" _It is unnecessary for you to know my name, I am simply known as one of the great knights of the round," the man answered._

" _You must be strong! Since you are a knight..." the prince commented energetically._

" _You can't be strong without working hard," the knight responded._

Aichi was sitting in the crowd, it was like his relationship with Shu. The puppet show continued, they went on adventures together and had fun. Aichi was enjoying the show, he looked like the most engaged out of the rest of the children in the crowd.

 _Nearing the beginning of the final battle, the knight and the prince were talking outside of the dragon's chamber._

" _Don't be reckless in there alright? I taught you everything I know. But remember, your life is more important than mine," the knight explained seriously._

" _What makes my life more important?" The prince asked._

 _The knight knelt down before the young prince. "I've never told you this, but you are the prince of the castle. As one of the royal family's loyal knights of the round, I have the responsibility to protect you," the knight explained with his hands on the prince's shoulders._

" _I'm the prince?" He asked._

" _Yes, now come. Let's finish the journey we began long ago," the knight said after patting the prince's head to stop his thinking._

"This reminds me of something..." Aichi thought to himself holding Blaster Blade in his hands.

 _They walked into the dragon's chamber and was faced with a breath of fire. The knight stepped in front of the prince and covered him from the fire with his sword._

" _Are you okay?" The prince asked nervously._

" _I am fine, my prince," the knight answered._

" _Take this! And this!" The prince said while attacking. After fighting for a while, they defeated the dragon and the kingdom was saved! The end._

Everyone clapped after the curtain closed. Parents began picking up their children. Aichi was soon the only one waiting. "Shu… Where are you…?" He asked quietly and nervously.

He was sitting at the side with Blaster Blade in hand. "Did you like the show?" Besu asked politely.

Aichi nodded his head. "It was really good. The knight reminded me of Shu and Blaster Blade," he answered with a smile. "I've seen you with the Beyblade Club. You're always so observant of the people around you," he explained happily.

Kensuke blushed. "Where is Shu anyways?" Keru asked in a rush.

"He is at the doctor's checking up on his arm. He injured it yesterday," Aichi answered nervously.

"Shu was injured?!" Besu asked in shock.

Aichi nodded. "But he looked stronger than ever!" Keru said.

"His shoulder was injured, but I don't know how bad it is," Aichi said. After a while of waiting, Shu never can in to pick him up. Instead, Takuto walked through the doors making Aichi jump.

Kensuke noticed Aichi's reaction after seeing the man. "Oh, Sendou. There you are," Takuto said as he began walking towards him. Kensuke stood between them.

"Who are you?!" Keru asked.

"If you would kindly tell us," Besu added.

"I am here to pick him up. Shu Kurenai wasn't feeling so well, so I came in his stead," Takuto explained with a smirk on his face. He reached his hand out to Aichi, but Aichi reacted quickly and slipped away from his grasp by stepped behind Kensuke scared.

"You wouldn't be scared of you if he knew you!" Keru said biting the hand that tried to get Aichi.

"But he does know me. Now Sendou, don't overreact," Takuto said. He inconspicuously pulled out a Beyblade.

Takuto angled it so that only Aichi can see it. Aichi saw that he was holding Spriggan. Aichi then thought a little before walking towards Takuto. "Hey! Wait, kid!" Keru exclaimed.

"You shouldn't go," Besu added.

"I'll be okay," Aichi assured with a weak smile.

"You heard him," Takuto said sounding satisfied with how well his plan worked. Aichi followed Takuto outside to his car. He and Aichi sat inside together.

"What did you do to Shu?" Aichi asked.

"I was given the information the Shu Kurenai was injured. So I decided I will begin activity again," Takuto explained. Aichi's Psyqualia activated and Blaster Blade also began glowing.

" _My Vanguard, you must escape immediately!"_ Blaster Blade exclaimed.

" _But… Shu!"_ Aichi cried.

" _You must! Link Joker and the Void have rigged this battle,"_ Blaster Blade repeated in urgency.

" _I can't leave Shu,"_ Aichi responded with resolve.

"Sendou!" Takuto called. Aichi noticed that the car stopped and his Psyqualia deactivated. "Speaking to that nuisance, I see?" Takuto grinned.

Aichi held Blaster Blade tightly before stepping out of the car and following Takuto inside the Tatsunagi building. Inside, Aichi saw Shu unconscious restrained by black mist. Most of the mist was swarming around his right arm.

"Shu!" Aichi exclaimed. He ran towards Shu, but Kai pulled him back.

"Shu Kurenai, awaken!" Takuto ordered.

Shu soon woke up and saw his situation. "Aichi!" He called.

"Are you okay, Shu?" Aichi asked.

"I'm fine," Shu assured. He tried to struggle against his restraints, but even time he tried he felt the pain on his shoulder grow.

"Shu! Your shoulder!" Aichi cried.

"Alright then, let's get this over with. You know what we gathered you both for... time for battle," Takuto said. Shu was released from the black mist. He fell to his knees and held his shoulder.

Aichi pushed Kai's arm and ran to Shu's side. "Shu! Does your arm hurt?" He asked. He noticed that a strain of black mist remained attached to Shu's right arm.

" _Sendou, give Shu Kurenai your power. We're going to put an end this useless struggle of yours,"_ Void ordered.

"No! Shu can't battle!" Aichi denied.

" _He'll only get more hurt,"_ Void grinned. Shu's arm was pulled up which caused him to cry in pain.

"No! Stop!" Aichi cried.

"Do as Void says if you want it to stop," Takuto said.

Aichi paused before holding Shu's left hand. "I'm sorry, Shu," he apologized sadly.

Shu opened one of his eyes and slowly moved his right hand to pat hand. "I'll win again," he assured trying to comfort him. Aichi fainted and Shu was released from the black mist.

Takuto held his launcher at a BeyStadium. Shu pulled Aichi up with his left arm and placed him comfortably leaning on a wall. He then walked to the stadium and readied his position.

"Enjoy your final battle with Sendou's power," Takuto said.

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!"

Shu cried in pain as he launched with all the power left in his arm. Even so, the launch was slow compared to usual, but because of Aichi and Blaster Blade, Spriggan began gaining momentum and spin speed. "What's wrong? That was a weak launch," Takuto taunted laughing.

"Destroyed him, Omega Glendios!" Takuto ordered. Glendios and Spriggan collided. Glendios did seem even more powerful than before. Because of its overwhelming power, Aichi, Blaster Blade, and Spriggan had to deflect the attack together. Even then, they were pushed back.

The battle became explosive as Glendios continued attacking relentlessly. Then suddenly, an opportunity opened up for Shu. "Spriggan, Counter Break!"

"Far too weak! I'm surprised how quick you are to forget Glendios' special move!" Takuto responded. As Glendios and Spriggan collided, it was then Shu noticed the red and black aura engulfing Spriggan.

It was then, Spriggan burst. "No!" Shu cried. Aichi's aura left Shu and he was weakened so much that he fell unconscious. A light strain released itself from Shu's right wrist and returned to Aichi.

Shu fell to the ground as Aichi woke up. "Shu!" He exclaimed as he began running to Shu.

"Not so fast, Sendou!" Takuto responded. Kai took hold of Aichi. One of his arms kept Aichi's neck secured and held onto his left wrist. The other held onto his right wrist. He pulled Aichi off his feet as Takuto walked up to Aichi.

"We can't have you recreating that connection, can we?" Takuto asked. "Now, create the connection with Void."

Black mist manifested into a human form. " _I've been awaiting this moment for a while,"_ Void said.

"No! I won't!" Aichi rebelled. He kicked Kai from behind and tried to struggle, but nothing was working. "Let me go!" Aichi demanded.

Void raised his hand and picked Shu's unconscious body. " _This human holds meaning to you, doesn't he? Won't it be just unfortunate if I would have to dispose of him?"_ Void threatened with a grin.

Aichi's eyes widened, his struggling stopped. He looked down. " _I never thought of what Shu might have needed..."_ he thought. Takuto nodded and Kai let go of Aichi. Aichi fell to his knees.

"Please… let me stay with Shu until his tournament ends," Aichi pleaded. Tears fell to the ground. Void grinned and began walking to Aichi. He lifted Aichi's chin with his hand to raise his head.

" _That's what I like to hear. You are reasonable, Sendou. But I'm sure you know that you need to create the connection first before I allow this,"_ Void said before releasing Aichi.

More of Aichi's tears fell on the ground before his hands held Void's. He turned to Shu who was still floating in the air.

He pulled out Blaster Blade and placed him and Void's hand between his. " _I will not allow it!"_ Blaster Blade exclaimed.

" _Blaster Blade, learn to listen to your Vanguard,"_ Void responded.

"Blaster Blade, please do this for me," Aichi pleaded sadly.

" _But, My Vanguard!"_ Blaster Blade shouted.

"Do it!" Aichi ordered. Blaster Blade complied and Aichi's aura soon transferred to Void. The light strain that was once attached to Shu was now attached to Void's right wrist.

Aichi fell forward and Void caught him. " _Send them both back. Make sure his Psyqualia is locked and Shu Kurenai doesn't remember anything about what happened here. Also, take extra precautions to make sure he doesn't know anything about Sendou creating the connection with me. After the tournament, bring Sendou back here alone,"_ Void ordered.

"Yes, Master Void," Takuto answered while bowing. Kai also bowed before Void disappeared. "Looks like I have some cleaning up to do," Takuto said.

* * *

The next morning, Shu woke up like it was just another day. He was feeling uneasy, so he opened the door to his room and found Aichi still asleep in his bed. " _Why do I have this feeling that something is different?"_ Shu thought worried.

Shu walked out of the room and closed the door behind him before changing. He held his shoulder after feeling a sharp pain. " _Right… the doctor told me to rest my shoulder,"_ he remembered. _"But I can't afford to... not now!"_

After his jog, he proceeded to wake up Aichi. "Aichi, wake up," he called after opening the door.

He walked into his room and saw that Aichi was still fast asleep. "Aichi!" He called shaking Aichi.

Aichi slowly opened his eyes. "Shu…" he muttered kind of sadly.

"Is something wrong? Are you feeling sick?" Shu asked worriedly.

Aichi shook his head and smiled. "I'm just happy to be staying with you," he answered. Shu noticed the difference in the way Aichi was acting but decided not to ask him about it.

He nudged Aichi's head with his hand gently. "I'm happier than anyone. If I hadn't met you, I would've been alone like before," Shu responded.

Aichi thought. "Hm… Shu, why don't you join the BeyClub? Since you don't want to be alone," He suggested.

"Well… the thing is that I prefer training alone," Shu responded.

Aichi sat up on the bed and made a concerned face. Shu poked his head. "Training alone helps you perfect the basics and see which launch works best," Shu explained.

Aichi moved to the side to get off. "Oh, Shu! How is your shoulder feeling?" He asked concerned.

"It's fine," Shu answered. Aichi stretched. "Get ready, I finished making breakfast," Shu said. Aichi nodded before walking to the washroom.

When Aichi looked at the mirror, he saw a pair of locks inside his eyes. "I can't talk to Blaster Blade…" he said to himself sadly looking at Blaster Blade.

"Blaster Blade, if you can hear me… please say something," Aichi pleaded quietly. After not hearing an answer, he began washing up. He brushed his hair, brushed his teeth, washed his face and changed his clothes before walking outside to see Shu sitting at the table waiting for him to begin eating.

Aichi sat at the table with a smile. "It smells good," he commented happily. "Thank you, Shu," he thanked happily. They ate together. As usual, Blaster Blade sat on the table beside in front of Aichi.

"You know, Aichi. When you lend me your power, I think I can hear Spriggan's voice. Can you hear them all the time?" Shu asked.

Aichi's expression looked down, but he smiled. "I can always hear Beyblades around me. I feel really happy to be able to hear them. But when I heard Valt's Beyblade's cries, that was the first time I didn't want to hear the voices," he explained.

Shu smiled. "But you said that Valkyrie was happy again right?" He asked.

Aichi nodded enthusiastically. "When I heard Valkyrie yesterday, he said thank you to me and you. I forgot to tell you," he said happily.

"That's good. Actually, Aichi. You were the one that thought of the question Valt needed to be asked. I just changed your words," Shu said.

"I think you would've asked him the same thing without telling you what I heard," Aichi replied. "That's the kind of person you are, Shu," He added with a smile. Shu watched Aichi as he happily ate the food. He thought it was weird for Aichi to be cherishing every bite of the food he made. He looked extra happy that day. But he smiled after Aichi looked up at him with a warm and sincere smile.

"We should finish up or else we might be late," Shu said. Aichi nodded happily.

They soon began walking to school. Shu looked over at Aichi, who looked to be deep in thought. Aichi looked over after noticing Shu had glanced at him. "Aichi, I'm going to go see the doctor after school," Shu informed.

"Does your shoulder hurt that much?" Aichi asked.

"No, it's just to make sure the injury isn't getting worse," Shu responded. "Also… after that, I'm going to practice. I think you should go home without me."

Aichi looked down. "You don't want me around anymore?" He responded sadly.

"No! That's not it. I just to practice alone for today," Shu answered in a panic.

"Okay then," Aichi agreed.

"I can walk you home before going to the doctors," Shu suggested.

Aichi shook his head. "I can walk there alone," he answered sounding a little disappointed.

" _It looks like he really wants to be with me… but why? I can't let him see that I'm practicing my right-handed launch,"_ Shu thought.

* * *

After school, Aichi walked home alone. He held the key that Shu had given to him protectively. While walking home, he saw Kai standing there. "Kai…" he muttered.

Kai turned to Aichi. "Come," he ordered as he began to walk. Aichi shivered before following along thinking that he would meet Takuto and Void again.

Instead, Kai stopped in front of a small pond inside a park. It wasn't the normal park that Aichi and Shu usually go to practice, but it wasn't too far from the apartment building. Aichi remembered something before running to the water and looked at his reflection through the clear waters. He also saw Kai standing at the side with hands in his pockets looking away. Aichi looked happy.

"Umm…" Aichi started shyly. Kai turned to him. Aichi didn't dare turn to face him directly, he just looked at the reflection in the water. "Thank you for bringing me here," he thanked quietly.

Kai turned away again. "Where is the kid you're always with?" He asked.

"Shu? Well… um… he went to see the doctors and said he wanted to be alone for now," Aichi answered. He saw a fish swimming in the pond and admired it from afar.

There was silence and Aichi felt the tension between them. "Listen," Kai started. Aichi jumped since it was so abrupt. Kai lowered his head and said simply, "I'm not on Void's side."

Those words stuck to Aichi and he saw Kai begin to walk away. Aichi stood up from where he was and turned to Kai. "Thank you, Kai!" He cried.

Kai didn't respond or react. He knew if he stayed there any longer, Takuto would get suspicious and he would keep him out of the remainder of Void's plan. "They aren't going to go after you until the tournament is over. So, spend as much time with him as possible while you still can. Also, Takuto wanted me to remind you that you can't tell Shu Kurenai about what happened yesterday," Kai explained to Aichi unexpectedly while he wasn't too far. Then he left leaving Aichi there all alone. After looking at the pond a little longer squatting down to see his reflection, then he stood up and walked back home.

Luckily, he got back before Shu did. He waited there patiently for Shu to come back since he didn't have much else to do while he was waiting. He didn't have any homework and he wasn't able to speak to Blaster Blade. While reading the textbook, he soon fell asleep on the couch.

Shu soon returned home to find that Aichi was asleep on the couch. Shu brushed some of the stray strands of hair on Aichi's face before pulling a blanket over Aichi's body. He held his shoulder after feeling the pain growing. Aichi turned a little causing Blaster Blade to fall off from the palm of Aichi's hand.

Shu leaned down to pick up Blaster Blade from the floor. "He looks more tired than usual," he commented as he placed Blaster Blade on the table.

The sun was beginning to set when he heard the doorbell ring. Aichi slowly woke up. Shu went to open the door to find Valt holding three large bags of ice. "Huh…? Valt? What's with all that?" Shu asked as Valt walked inside. Aichi walked to the doorway and stayed behind Shu.

"You said your shoulder would heal if you put ice on your shoulder, so I brought some," Valt answered.

"Um… let me help." Aichi said shyly before taking a bag off Valt's hands. They brought it to the kitchen table. Shu helped Aichi's bag up onto the table.

"So cold…" Valt said while rubbing his hands together to warm them up. Aichi breathed into his hands. Shu looked at Valt as he copied Aichi and laughed.

"How much ice do you think I'm going to use on my shoulder?" Shu asked jokingly.

"Huh?"

"How about we make some snow cones with the extra ice?" Shu suggested as he pulled out a blender.

"Sure."

Aichi watched as the blender crushed the ice. Shu could tell that he wanted to press the button just like any other kid. Shu put the crushed ice into a glass dessert bowl.

"Here, you can press the button," Shu said. Aichi looked at him and smiled before pushing the button when Shu put the ice inside.

Shu put flavouring on the ice cones and they sat at the dining table to eat together.

"Snow cones are the best!" Valt cheered. "You should hang out at my place sometime. My mom's bread is to die for!" He added enthusiastically.

"I need to practice," Shu responded.

"Then come and join the BeyClub. Kensuke, Daina, and the Boss are all there. Playing with everyone is good practice," Valt suggested. Aichi slowly ate his snow cone while listening to them talk.

"I prefer to be alone," Shu responded.

"That's right… but you seem to like Aichi around you," Valt said.

Aichi jumped and nervously shuffled around. "I have the responsibility of taking care of him now. Also, I think you got a good way of doing things since you met Kiyama and the others, your Beyblade skills have been getting much better," Shu explained.

"Thank you, Shu," Valt thanked in tears. Aichi smiled. He can feel the connection of Valt and Shu, it was a warm atmosphere. "I wanna beat you. You're still what I aspire to be, but I wanna beat you with all I've got."

"Then make it to the finals, I'll be there," Shu said.

"We'll fight in the finals," Valt replied.

"I won't hold back against you," Shu warned.

"If you hold back, I'd never forgiven you," Valt laughed before eating a lot of his snow cone at one time. Valt suddenly froze up.

"Umm… is Valt alright?" Aichi asked nervously.

"Brain freeze it happens because you eat in such a rush," Shu said. He took another bite. His face froze up and looked uncomfortable too.

Aichi couldn't help but giggle. "You're all froze up too, Shu!" Valt laughed.

"Be quiet! Stop laughing!" Shu demanded.

"You were totally frozen! It's fun right?" Valt joked.

"Don't group me in with you!" Shu exclaimed.

"But why not? I thought we were best friends!" Valt said.

Valt soon left. "I have never seen you like that, Shu," Aichi commented happily.

Shu scratched his head in embarrassment. "It just happens sometimes, let it go alright?" He replied.

Aichi smiled. "It must be because you two have been so close for so long. Valt brings out the best out of you," he said.

"I know," Shu answered with a smile.

* * *

 **~The Next Day~**

Valt was doing anything that could have put strain on his shoulder for him, which made Shu angry.

It started when everyone in the class was moving the tables after presentations into the normal set up. Valt lifted the desk up with his head and moved it. "Um…" Aichi said standing beside Shu with his desk. The desk was a little big for Aichi, so Shu helped him carry his because Valt helped him.

"Thank you Shu," Aichi thanked.

During class, Shu dropped his pencil. When he bent down to reach for it, Valt dived to catch it but slammed his face in Shu's table. Aichi looked over to see if Valt was okay. Shu seemed very irritated.

At the end of class, Valt took Shu's bag so he wouldn't have to hold it. Aichi stood behind Shu nervously because Valt kept doing things for him. "Give it back!" Shu demanded while reaching for his bag.

"To the doctors then?" Valt asked.

"I said give it back!" Shu repeated more angrily.

"I don't mind making a couple of stops," Valt said cockily.

"That's enough, Valt! I don't need you to do things for me!" Shu replied angrily.

"What's the commotion about?" Besu asked.

"Are Shu and Valt having an argument?!" Keru added.

"You don't see that everyday," Besu said.

"If they're having a fight then it's gotta be something big," Kiyama said.

Aichi nervously pulled Shu's jacket, but Shu pushed him back. He fell back and bumped into Kensuke. "Shu…" he muttered sadly.

"Hey, you two! What's the problem?! Why are you fighting?" Kiyama asked.

"It's nothing," Shu answered.

"It's not nothing!" Valt exclaimed.

"You're hurt, right?" Kensuke said.

"It's nothing, I'm all better now. Valt's just too loud," Shu answered.

"Are you really better?" Valt asked.

"Yes!" Shu answered confidently.

"Are you really really better?" Valt repeated.

"Back off!" Shu exclaimed, he forcefully took his bag back before walking to the exit.

"Are you really really really better?!" Valt repeated. Shu turned back to see Aichi's concerned look.

"Follow me," Shu said. Valt, Aichi, Kiyama and Kensuke followed him up to the roof. Daina was already setting up a stadium.

"Perfect! Kurogami, battle me," Shu demanded.

"Fine then. I wanted to battle you for a while now," Daina answered.

"See for yourselves if I'm better," Shu said.

"Shu… what if Spriggan isn't happy?" Aichi asked.

Shu smiled and ruffled his hair with one hand. "You can tell me what Spriggan says then," he replied with a smile, before walking to the stadium.

Aichi tried using his Psyqualia, but it was still no good. Shu got into his usual stance.

"First battle!"

" _I have to win with a burst finish,"_ Shu thought.

"Ready! Set!"

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!"

It had seemed to be a perfect launch. Spriggan was fast and headed to the center.

"He's waiting for Deathscyther to come to the center, isn't he?" Daina said.

"Spriggan is faster than usual!" Valt exclaimed.

"Deathscyther is faster! Go, Snake Shot!" Daina said. Dethscyther missed the first time, but Spriggan and Deathscyther reached the center at the same time and collided, which knocked both Beyblades away from each other.

"Deathscyther almost had it!" Keru exclaimed.

"Go Shu…!" Aichi cheered.

"I got you now!" Daina said. Deathscyther ran passed the center to find that Spriggan wasn't there. "What?! Spriggan…!"

Spriggan attacked from a different angle setting up for a burst. "Good," Shu said.

"Stand your ground, Deathscyther!" Spriggan continued attacking in different angles to slow Deathscyther. After a couple more attacks, Deathscyther burst.

"Spriggan wins with a Burst Finish! Shu wins, 2-0."

"That was a good battle. You never disappoint, Shu," Daina commented.

"You too," Shu answered.

"That wasn't the shot of a Blader suffering from an injury," Besu commented.

"You're getting really good!" Keru added.

"Get the picture, Valt?" Shu asked.

"You really are better!" Valt answered. "I'm gonna beat you next time, I promise! I'll win and go to the finals, Shu! Let's fight in the finals together!" He declared.

"Sure," Shu responded. Kiyama, Daina, Kensuke and Valt began talking. Aichi walked up to Shu with his bag in his hands after he noticed Shu wince.

"Hey, Aichi. Let's go home alright?" Shu asked reaching his hand to take his bag off Aichi's hands.

"Okay. I think you should put some ice on you shoulder… I mean… um… just in case, right…?" Aichi suggested nervously. He was scared that Shu would yell at him. But instead, Shu smiled and patted his head.

"Alright, if you say so," Shu agreed. They walked back home. "Anyways, what did Spriggan say?" He asked.

Aichi thought. "Well… I couldn't hear Spriggan's voice," he answered trying to hide that fact that he couldn't hear the voices anymore. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Are you alright, Aichi? You always hear their voices so clearly and easily," Shu asked. Aichi saw to the side of his eye, that Void was watching. He saw him shakes his head with a wide smile.

"It's nothing, I haven't been hearing that many voices lately," Aichi answered.

"Really? Blaster Blade hasn't been speaking to you?" Shu asked.

"Not lately," Aichi answered hesitantly.

"I'm sure everything is alright. Blaster Blade will always be there for you right?" Shu asked. Aichi nodded with a smile. He held Blaster Blade tightly in his hand as they headed home.

* * *

 **Happy New Year!**

 **I hope all of you guys have an amazing New Year and follow through on all your New Years resolutions! (If you have any...) This year I really want to chill more and just write stories, but school keeps my from chilling and writing stories. -.- But it is all right because I have been writing a lot over my winter break whether it was this story or other stories. :3**

 **I hope all of you liked this chapter! But I think the schedule of uploads will be a little weird again after school begins again. I'll probably just post randomly whenever I finish something after next chapter which will be posted next week.**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter and I'll see you next week!**

 **By the way, I was really happy that you liked the Christmas present last week. (Dark Serafina) You are awesome! :3**


	7. The Separation

It was the day of the semi-finals. Shu sat in the waiting room as Valt and Wakiya battled. The BeyClub, the twins, and Aichi stood at the front of the crowd watching the battle. Valt managed to win his match against Wakiya and soon it was Shu and Odin's turn to battle. Aichi began to feel dizzy.

" _What's happening…?"_ Aichi thought as he fell forwards onto the guard wall.

"Are you alright?!" Besu asked concerned. Kiyama and Kensuke helped support Aichi. He caught everyone's attention which caused a temporary postpone of the match.

They took Aichi to a clinic inside the mall. Shu hurried to the clinic to see how he was doing. Shu burst opened the door startling everyone inside. Kensuke, Kiyama, and Daina were inside with a doctor. "How is he?" Shu asked calmly.

"He should be fine after some rest. It seems like he hasn't been getting enough sleep," the doctor answered.

"But he's been sleeping every night," Shu informed.

"Sleep deprivation is the only cause I can think of after examining his condition," the doctor answered. Aichi was sleeping deeply as if he hadn't slept for a week. The doctor stood up from the bedside seat. "You live with this boy, is that correct?" He asked.

"Yes, I do. I was the one given the responsibility of taking care of him," Shu answered.

"I can see you've been doing a fine job, but I suggest checking up on him at night once an hour to make sure he's asleep," The doctor suggested.

"Okay, I will. Thank you," Shu agreed. The doctor left the room.

"Shu, you should get back to the stadium. You'll be disqualified if you're late," Daina suggested.

"You can leave him to us!" Keru assured.

"Until you come back anyway," Besu added.

"Thank you, I'll come back soon," Shu answered before leaving. He ran back to the stadium.

After the match, Shu returned to the room where Aichi was resting. Aichi was still in a deep sleep. "We'll leave him to you from here," Kiyama said before leaving with Kensuke and Daina. Shu walked to Aichi's side and touched Aichi's forehead. It was on the warmer side, but it wasn't a high fever.

"What are you not telling me?" Shu asked. Aichi slowly opened his eyes, he had a dazed look in his eyes. "Are you alright Aichi?" Shu asked.

"I'm a little dizzy," Aichi answered. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Shu," he apologized looking downward on the covers.

Shu ruffled Aichi's hair. "I won my semi-finals match if you wanted to know," Shu informed.

"Really? I'm glad," Aichi replied happily.

"Aichi, by any chance have you been getting enough sleep lately?" Shu asked. Aichi shuffled a little. "You can tell me anything Aichi," Shu assured.

"Well… actually…" Aichi started nervously.

"Did something happen?" Shu asked.

"I've been having a lot of nightmares and that keep reoccurring keeping me awake..." Aichi answered.

"Nightmares? About what?" Shu replied.

"I saw a desolate planet, everything was dying there. I don't know why I feel so scared of that," Aichi informed shivering.

"Try to get your mind off it alright?" Shu responded.

Aichi looked down. "I'll try..." he said. Shu knew that Aichi was still hiding something from him, but he didn't want to ask about it yet.

"How about you go to the BeyClub party that Valt and the others will be going to?" Shu suggested.

"Okay," Aichi agreed. He slowly got up from the bed and onto his feet.

"Can you walk?" Shu asked.

"I'm alright," Aichi assured. Shu and Aichi walked out of the mall and Aichi felt the presence of someone. Aichi pulled on Shu's shirt and pointed at one of the support beams.

"Is there something there?" Shu asked. He stayed alert as they waited for the person to come out.

Suddenly, Keru appeared from the beam. "That was exciting," he commented.

"Shu's semi-final battle, he means," Besu added also popping out from behind the pole.

"Morikawa…" Shu said. Aichi moved to the side to stand beside Shu.

"Seems you and Valt are really going to battle it out," Keru said.

"That's right," Besu agreed. Aichi turned to Shu and saw him smile softly.

"You were able to keep your promise to each other," Keru said.

"I thought it would be nice to have a friend like that," Besu added.

"Yeah," Shu answered.

Kensuke put his puppets down. "Valt's a good guy," he said without his puppets. That surprised Shu and Aichi. "You know, I changed schools so often, it was hard to make friends. I thought it was okay, that I didn't need something like that. But Valt didn't care and kept coming up to me. Then I thought… That's how he is! For me, he's my first close friend. And you're his. It's great to see close friends fulfilling a promise. I was really moved!" He explained.

Aichi looked down and smiled. " _I guess I can say Shu is my first friend… I don't have my memories, but Shu means a lot to me,"_ he thought.

"Morikawa…" Shu said.

Kensuke blushed. "Uh! Anyways, we'll wait for you at the BeyClub," Keru said.

"Or not…" Besu added. He slowly walked away.

"I hope you're feeling better, kid!" Keru shouted.

Shu held his shoulder with a smile. "Shu… you know… You're my first close friend! I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't been there for me back then," Aichi said urgently.

"Thank you. But I'm sure you have close friends closer than you and I," Shu replied. "We should get to the BeyClub party soon," Aichi nodded enthusiastically.

* * *

When they reached the entrance to the school, Shu suddenly stopped walking before entering the school grounds. Aichi stopped and turned to Shu. "Aren't you coming, Shu?" Aichi asked shyly.

"I'll come back later. I get to the doctors for a checkup," Shu answered.

"Does your shoulder hurt that much?" Aichi asked.

"No. It's just to make sure my shoulder is fine. Don't worry alright? Just enjoy yourself, if Valt and the others ask where I am, just tell them I'll be here soon," Shu said.

"Oh... okay…" Aichi agreed sadly. He kept his head down as he walked to the entrance of the school.

 _"Aichi really does seem more attached than usual... and he has been getting nightmares lately. Something definitely_ happened," Shu thought as he began walking to the clinic.

Meanwhile, Aichi walked to the rooftop alone while Shu left to the doctor's office. Aichi slowly opened the door leading to the roof and slipped inside. He waited for Shu to come back standing near the doorway where no one can notice him. After a while, Chiharu was the first to notice Aichi standing to the side alone.

She picked up a piece of bread and walked to Aichi. She squatted down for Aichi and held out the bread. "You're the boy that Shu is taking care of right?" She asked. Aichi nodded shyly. "Valt told me that Shu would be late, how about you have a good time and eat something until he comes," she suggested. She made the tone of her voice as gentle as possible because she knew how shy Aichi was. Aichi slowly took the bread and Chiharu smiled before taking him to the rest of the group.

Aichi bit into the bread with small bites. He smiled and blushed because it tasted good. "How does it taste?" Chiharu asked.

"Good…" Aichi answered quietly.

"You're the kid that's always with Shu! Is he here already?!" Valt asked excited looking around.

"Shu said he'll be here later," Aichi answered shyly.

Valt jumped into his face. "How about we have a BeyBattle? I have never battled you before," Valt suggested.

Aichi shied away scared. "Um… I've never really battled before and…" he muttered.

"It doesn't matter, kid!" Keru shouted.

"It's just for fun," Besu added. Aichi slowly nodded and held his launcher and Blaster Blade close to his chest. He walked to the BeyStadium shaking and got into position.

Aichi's hands were shaking from anxiousness. He tried to slow down his heart rate and breathing, but it was no use. "Blaster Blade, I want to be stronger…" he muttered unsure if Blaster Blade could even hear him.

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!"

Aichi shot early, but no one minded since they thought it was probably his first time battling against an opponent. Aichi definitely messed up his shot, but Blaster Blade, like always made up for it.

"Wow…! It recovered!" Kiyama exclaimed.

"Thank you, Blaster Blade. Even though I can't hear your voice, you can still hear me right?" Aichi asked quietly. Blaster Blade shone slightly making Aichi smile.

"Valkyrie, let's go easy on him. I am one of the strongest Bladers around since I'm in the finals with Shu and-" Valt gloated.

"Blaster Blade attack," Aichi ordered. Suddenly, Blaster Blade swooped in and knocked Valkyrie out of the stadium. He calmly took a breath and picked up Blaster Blade.

"Wow! Valt, maybe you should keep your mouth shut next time," Hiyama joked. Everyone else joined in laughing, even Aichi giggled quietly.

"I would like a battle too," Besu challenged.

"Hey! I need to redeem myself first, guys!" Valt shouted.

"We want a battle too!" The twins agreed.

"I wouldn't mind going up against-" Kiyama began scratching his nose before seeing Aichi run panicked to the door. "Or not..."

When Aichi was about to reach the door, it opened and he bumped into someone, which made the person fall down. "Are you alright?" The person asked holding onto Aichi protectively. Aichi opened his eyes and looked up to see Shu.

"Shu!" Aichi cried. Shu noticed how scared he was because of his shaking hand. Aichi was so happy to see Shu that his eyes teared up. He hugged Shu and stuffed his face into his chest whimpering. Shu flinched from a sharp pain in his shoulder.

Shu quickly recovered before smiling and patting Aichi's head comfortingly. "What's wrong?" He asked. Just knowing how Valt acts and Aichi's reactions gave him an idea of what happened. "Did Valt ask for a BeyBattle? Did you win?" He asked.

Aichi nodded, his face still in Shu's shirt. "Most people would be happy when they win. You should too," Shu said. Aichi loosened up and looked up at him. His face was still red from before. "I'm here, so how about we go home?" He asked.

Aichi looked down. "But… you didn't get to enjoy the party…" he said sadly.

"It's alright. I don't mind, I still have a lot of training to do before the finals," Shu replied, it was like something was bothering him.

Valt and the others saw Aichi and Shu leaving. "Hey, Shu! Wait! You didn't-!" Valt exclaimed.

Suddenly, Kensuke stopped him and shook his head. "Shu probably wants to train so that he is at his strongest when you two battle in the finals," Besu said.

"You're right…" Valt replied suspiciously remembering Shu holding his shoulder in the waiting room. He ran to the table of bread and began chugging them down.

"Valt?" Chiharu said.

"H-hey…" Kiyama added. "Are you okay?"

"Everyone! Let's have a battle!" Valt shouted.

"Did losing to someone younger than you knock out some screws?" Keru asked.

"You just seem like suddenly there is something bothering you," Besu added.

"I… I just want a great battle!" Valt exclaimed.

"I guess I'll do it," Kiyama said.

"I'll battle you next then," Daina agreed.

Meanwhile, Shu and Aichi were leaving. "Hey, Shu…? Do you think Valt knows that your injury isn't completely better yet?" Aichi asked.

"It's nothing for you to worry about alright?" Shu replied with an assuring smile. He thought of when Valt walked into the waiting room while he was holding onto his shoulder. " _I think he saw that… it was good that Aichi was there in case Valt caught on and went to the clinic after realizing. I guess I should thank him."_

Aichi began to feel faint and stumbled. Shu used his left arm to support him, but when he tried to provide further support with his right arm he flinched. "Are you feeling tired again?" Shu asked.

"Shu…?" Aichi muttered.

"What is it?" Shu asked.

"I… can you sleep with me tonight…?" Aichi asked timidly.

"Are you scared of sleeping in my room?" Shu responded concerned.

"I always get these nightmares and I get so scared that I can't sleep for the rest of the night. I think if you are by my side, I can fall asleep again," Aichi explained.

Shu smiled and invited Aichi onto a piggyback, he tried to hide the pain when Aichi put pressure on his right shoulder. "If it will help you sleep, I'll sleep with you until you don't feel scared anymore," Shu agreed. Aichi nodded as enthusiastically as he could. "Once we get home, you should wash up and get some rest. I'll make something to eat."

"Okay…" Aichi responded drowsily.

* * *

They soon reached home and Shu found that Aichi was fast asleep. He decided not to wake him up and laid him down on the bed. Shu made dinner and took it to Aichi after eating first. When Shu opened the door, he saw Aichi tossing and turning. He was breathing heavily and sweating. "Let me go…! No…! No!" He cried loudly in his sleep.

Shu placed the food down on the table beside the bed before shaking Aichi awake. "Aichi, wake up," Shu called. Aichi shot up from the bed panicked. "Calm down… Calm down… It's alright. I'm here," He said calmly. Aichi slowly began to calm down. "Tell me what you saw."

"I was getting pulled into something dark… I was scared…" Aichi whimpered.

" _Blaster Blade mentioned something like that before…"_ Shu thought. "It's alright, it was just a nightmare. Here eat something and go back to sleep. I'll be back later," he assured.

Shu left the room to take a shower leaving Aichi to eat in bed. Later that night, Shu walked back into the bedroom to see Aichi asleep in bed. The dishes were placed to the side. Shu took the dishes and washed them before laying down beside Aichi. Aichi's nightmare seemed to have started again. Shu turned to Aichi to see that Aichi was turned to him. Shu patted Aichi's head to try to calm him enough to stop the nightmare. When Aichi was calm again, he fell asleep.

Later that night, Aichi's nightmare returned. His vision was slightly blurry, but he noticed that it was the same nightmare as before. Last time, he was in a blind panic, but now he wanted to know what the nightmare was. He was holding onto a table, he noticed circles and rectangles arranged on the table. It seemed to look like an interface for a game. "W _hat is this?"_ He thought. Suddenly, something began pulling on his body.

"No! Takuto!" Aichi heard a voice cry, he recognized the voice as his own, but his voice was deeper.

" _Is this me...?"_ Aichi thought. His legs were pulled up from the ground, he held onto the table with a strong grip.

"No! Don't!" Aichi cried. Soon, his grip slipped and he was quickly being pulled towards a black ring in the sky. Suddenly, someone took his hand. After a closer look, he recognized the person as Kai. "Kai!"

"Don't say anything! Just hold on!" Kai responded. He seemed like he was trying to pull Aichi back down onto the ground.

"Toshiki Kai! Don't get in my way!" Takuto shouted. Black mist came out from the ring and began pulling Aichi's body in. Kai also got pulled off his feet and all three of them were dragged inside the ring.

Suddenly, everything began getting blurry and dark. He began forgetting his nightmare as he woke up. He felt unsettled and scared, but he didn't remember why. Aichi turned to see Shu sleeping beside him. Shu's right hand was on Aichi's shoulder. _"Shu was calming me down from my nightmare before..."_ Aichi thought with a smile. He moved closer to Shu and cuddled beside him trying to fall asleep again.

* * *

The day before the finals, Shu woke up early as usual and found that Aichi was asleep hugging his left arm. He was sleeping calmly. Shu smiled before slowly and gently slipped out of Aichi's grip. He pulled the blanket over Aichi before leaving to do his usual morning routine.

That morning at school, Valt and Shu were in an interview that was broadcasted all over the school. They were with the principal to get congratulated on making it to the finals together. Aichi watched the broadcast outside his classroom almost sadly knowing that the time for him to leave Shu was drawing near.

Shu held out his left hand for a handshake causing Valt to make a surprised expression. Valt tired to hide what he was thinking by meeting Shu's hand with his own left hand. After school, Shu and Aichi walked back home. Once they were at the entrance, Valt ran to them.

"Shu!" Valt called.

Shu turned to see Valt running towards them. "What's up, Valt?" Shu asked acting like nothing is wrong.

"Your shoulder still hurts, doesn't it?" Valt said. He reached for Shu's right shoulder causing Shu to respond by moving to the side. "You went to the doctors yesterday, didn't you? What did he say?" He asked concerned.

"That is none of your business," Shu answered before turning to leave.

Valt ran in front of Shu blocking his way. "Tell me!" Valt demanded.

"I'm fine alright?!" Shu responded aggressively. He took Aichi's hand using his left hand before walking out of school gates quickly.

When they were almost home, Aichi stopped and shook his hand to ask Shu to let him go. "What's wrong?" Shu asked.

"You should take care of yourself better, Shu. You always take care of me and make sure I'm fine… so…" Aichi muttered sadly.

Shu's expression turned into a gentle one. "I can't have someone younger than me take care of me, can I? I'll take it easy after the finals alright? For now, I'll just put as minimal strain on my shoulder as I can," he replied.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Aichi asked.

"Just cheer for me at the finals, that's enough to give me power," Shu answered happily.

"Okay. I'll try to cheer as loud as I can," Aichi replied nervously, but as enthusiastic as he could.

"It's fine if you don't cheer out loud," Shu assured with a laugh. Aichi blushed since Shu knew exactly what he was thinking.

Later that day, they heard the doorbell ring. Aichi slowly opened the door a little and peeked his head to see who it was. "Is Shu here at the moment?" Valt asked. He had a different expression than he usually did.

Aichi nodded passively before opening the door fully to welcome him in. Aichi ran to the washroom door and knocked. "Shu… Valt is here and he wants to see you," Aichi informed quietly.

"Okay," Shu answered. Soon he walked outside and to the doorway where Valt was standing. He was wearing an arm sling. "Why are you here?" He asked.

"Shu… forfeit the next match," Valt said.

"What?" Shu asked.

"Your shoulder's at its limit right? If it gets worse than this-! You won't be able to Beyblade anymore…" Valt explained.

"Valt, I know myself better than anyone else. I know my limits alright?" Shu responded.

"Well, if you won't forfeit, then I will," Valt said.

"Don't you dare!" Shu exclaimed pulling Valt up by his jacket.

"Shu… calm down," Aichi said nervously. He tried to make Shu let go, but he was only pushed back. The only thing he was able to do was stand there and watch them argue.

"Just forfeit!" Valt shouted angrily.

"That's going too far!" Shu answered.

"No, it's not!" Valt responded.

"Then I'm through with you, Valt. We're not friends anymore!" Shu declared.

"What?!" Valt exclaimed.

"Go home!" Shu demanded loudly.

"I'm not going home until you say, "yes"!" Valt answered stubbornly.

"Valt!" Shu exclaimed. His left hand let go of Valt's jacket and held onto Valt's shoulder. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder and backed off.

"Shu!" Valt exclaimed.

"Go home…!" Shu demanded in pain.

"Shu…" Valt said tearing up. "Shu… what should I do?" He asked crying. Aichi looked worried and looked like he was going to cry himself.

Shu sighed and took Valt's hand. "Come with me," he said leaving Aichi alone in the house.

Darkness began to fill the room and Aichi felt an evil presence. Aichi shivered and curled up in fear. " _Remember our agreement, Sendou,"_ Void said darkly. " _Enjoy what time you have left with that boy because I'll make sure you'll never see him again,"_ Void chuckled.

Aichi began crying, he wanted to stay with Shu forever. " _If you think about it, if I wasn't so kind you wouldn't have got a chance to stay with him until now. You should be thanking me, I'll just take your obedience as your payment,"_ Void taunted.

"Stop…" Aichi whimpered.

" _Actually, I should reset your memories again. Isn't that a great idea? Although that will break your will quicker, doing that would consume a lot of my power and it won't be as fun. I would like to hear what you think, Sendou,"_ Void continued.

"Please… don't talk any more…" Aichi pleaded.

Void laughed and pulled Aichi's chin up to look at his eyes. There were still locks on them and they looked weak and vulnerable. " _I guess I'll continue this chat with you tomorrow just because the look in your eyes are so weak and helpless. You should take this as me being sympathetic,"_ Void said releasing Aichi and leaving.

Shu soon returned and saw Aichi curled up on the ground shivering. He quickly ran to his side. "Aichi, what's wrong?" Shu asked worriedly.

Aichi shook his head and looked up at Shu. For a slight moment, Shu saw the locks in Aichi's eyes and looked surprised. Then Aichi gave Shu a weak smile. "I'm alright," he answered simply.

" _Was it just my imagination…?"_ Shu thought. He helped Aichi up from the ground, he noticed that Aichi was shaking. "You can tell me anything alright? I'll always be there for you," he assured.

Aichi nodded with a warm smile. "Thank you, Shu… for everything," he thanked. Shu felt like he was saying goodbye in his words.

* * *

The next day, it was the day of the finals. Shu went into the waiting room, but Aichi stood just outside. He stood there alone, he wanted to knock on the door and talk to Shu a little more before the match started, but he was too scared to.

As he was going to knock, he was startled by someone tapping his shoulder. Aichi jumped and turned around to see a tall and muscular man. "Hey, what are you doing here? Are you looking for someone?" The man asked.

"Um… well…" Aichi muttered in panic.

"Oh! I get it, you want to see the genius Shu Kurenai right?" The man asked.

"No… I mean…!" Aichi responded panicking more. Suddenly, the man opened the door and walked inside.

"Hey, you two. It's been a while!" The man said.

"Xhaka!" They exclaimed.

"I couldn't help myself when I heard you two would be facing each other in the finals. I wanted to see this match for myself," Xhaka explained.

"I'm glad you're here!" Valt exclaimed. Aichi peeked inside.

"Yeah!" Xhaka answered. They fist bumped and Valt was knocked down by it. "Hey, are you alright?" Xhaka asked jokingly but in a friendly manner.

"Owww! That was too forceful!" Valt exclaimed.

"I'm expecting the best from you in your final match," Xhaka said. He held his fist out so that they can have a fist bump altogether.

"Leave it to me. I'll give it all I've got! Right, Shu?" Valt said, hitting Xhaka's fist as hard as he can.

"Yeah," Shu agreed, joining in lightly.

Xhaka seemed to have noticed that there was something up with Shu. "O-oh! Right! One of your fans was outside, Shu. He wanted to come in but he was too nervous," Xhaka informed. They turned to the door, but all they were able to see was a small blue strand of hair.

Shu knew exactly who it was. "Aichi, why are you here?" He asked happily. Aichi looked inside and saw Valt and Xhaka. He looked at Xhaka scared. Shu turned to see who he was looking at before turning back. "He's a childhood friend of mine. He isn't that scary, so come in," Shu coaxed.

Aichi slowly walked inside, before running behind Shu and holding onto him. "So you know him already?" Xhaka asked confused.

"Yeah, he has been staying with me for a while now, since he has amnesia. His name is Aichi," Shu explained moving to the side to reveal Aichi. Aichi bowed his head a little for a greeting.

"Shu…" Aichi muttered.

"What is it?" Shu asked.

"Good luck…!" Aichi exclaimed as loud as he can, which was pretty quiet.

"Thank you," Shu thanked ruffling his hair. Aichi smiled brightly.

" _Shu Kurenai and Valt Aoi, please move to the exits,"_ the announcer said.

"I guess that is our queue then," Xhaka said lifting Aichi from the ground. Aichi was startled, but he looked like he was having fun on Xhaka's shoulders as they left. "I'll take care of him so that you can focus on your match, alright Shu? We'll cheer as loud as we can," Xhaka said.

Aichi nodded with a smile. "Alright, I'll make sure to win," Shu answered.

"Hey! I'm going to win!" Valt exclaimed.

"I'll cheer for you too, Valt," Xhaka said. Aichi waved at Shu before leaving.

Once they were outside, Xhaka walked to the audience section with Aichi still sitting on his shoulders. "So you've been staying with Shu?" Xhaka asked trying to start a conversation.

"Yeah… Shu's amazing," Aichi answered.

"By any chance, did he injure his shoulder?" Xhaka asked.

Aichi suddenly felt tense. "You can tell…?" He asked sadly. "I know how much this tournament means to Shu… it took me a while to understand, but now I just want him to win, since he's worked so much and went through so much pain," he explained.

Suddenly, Xhaka felt Aichi jump. "Is something wrong?" Xhaka asked.

Aichi saw Takuto and Kai at the back of the audience. "It's nothing," Aichi answered sadly.

"It looks like we'll have to cheer them on from back here!" Xhaka said enthusiastically to lighten Aichi's mood. Xhaka looked up at Aichi and saw that he had a distant look in his eyes. He looked at who he was looking at and saw Takuto and Kai starring at them, but more specifically Aichi.

"Do you know them?" Xhaka asked. Aichi didn't answer and turned to the front where Shu and Valt were already in their stances. "Let's cheer for Shu! He'll need it," Xhaka said.

"You better win Shu!" Xhaka cheered first. It caught Shu's attention, he glanced over for a second and saw Xhaka pointing at Aichi. Shu saw Aichi say, 'Go, Shu!' but it was too quiet to be heard from so far back.

Shu took a breath. "Ready, set!"

"3! 2! 1! Let it rip!"

Valkyrie and Spriggan collided fiercely in the stadium, but Shu took the first match with a ring out. Shu continued looking forward, but after hearing closely, he heard Aichi's cheers.

"You did it, Shu!" Aichi cheered happily.

After two more rounds, the score was 3-2 with Shu in the lead. At that point, Shu called a timeout because of his shoulder. "I'm going to see Shu," Xhaka informed Aichi while putting him down.

Aichi turned his head slightly to see Takuto giving the motion to go with him. "Okay. Shu is going to be alright, right?" Aichi asked.

"Of course. You stay here. When the match is over, I will take Shu to get some treatment with my grandpa after," Xhaka answered.

"Okay," Aichi replied. Xhaka began walking away. "Um…!" Aichi said reaching out before passively moving back. Xhaka turned back waiting to hear what he needed.

"Tell Shu to never quit," Aichi continued.

Xhaka laughed. "You got it!" He agreed. Once he left, Aichi turned to where Takuto and Kai was and began walking to them.

"I'm glad you got the message, Sendou," Takuto said evilly. Aichi looked down and allowed him to place the collar on him. "I trust you have 'him' with you," Takuto said.

Aichi pulled out Blaster Blade from his pocket and held onto him tightly. "Great then, let's go. I would much rather not have to deal with that person in particular," Takuto said thinking about Xhaka. He and Kai began walking to the door.

"I'm not leaving with you yet," Aichi rebelled staying behind.

"What?!" Takuto exclaimed.

"The finals aren't over yet," Aichi informed.

"Shu Kurenai has already lost. With that injury, there is no way he can win," Takuto replied bluntly.

"You can't be sure of that. I know Shu is going to win!" Aichi said confidently.

"Hm… really? I wonder why you act so shy and submissive to everyone else except Void and me?" Takuto asked. Aichi looked surprised.

"Don't tell me, you didn't know. Sometimes I take a peek to see what you're up to as ordered by the Void, of course. There seems to be a flame inside you that only lights up when you are with us. That frankly, is getting annoying," Takuto explained.

"We better leave now if we don't want trouble," Kai informed.

"Right… I wouldn't want to bother the master with such useless matters," Takuto said. He took Aichi's hand and pulled him outside.

"No!" Aichi cried.

"That's enough, don't make a scene, Sendou. There is a screen outside that broadcasts the match," Takuto informed trying to calm him down.

"It'll make this easier on you if you just leave now," Kai said.

Takuto noticed that Aichi stopped struggling. " _He listens to Kai, huh? This makes things easier,"_ he thought with a smirk on his face. They made it outside and stood there to look at a screen outside which broadcasted the match. It looked like Shu was back into the stadium. He looked better and in less pain which relieved Aichi a little.

The camera was showing the audience before the final match started. Aichi saw Xhaka looking around, he seemed to have been looking for him. Aichi glanced at Takuto and Kai carefully. When he thought they wouldn't notice, he tried to escape. Before he can take a second step, Kai took hold of Aichi's wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kai asked coldly. Aichi turned to Kai and began pulling away to make Kai release him.

"Let me go!" Aichi demanded.

"Sendou, I can put you asleep right now and take you away. You won't have the opportunity to see Shu Kurenai battle. I was told to do so if it is necessary," Takuto said. Aichi continued resisting. At that point, Shu and Valt had already shot their Beyblades.

Takuto sighed annoyed. "I was thinking of letting you stay for the end of this, but looks like I won't be able to stop you from resisting," he said before leaning in to put Aichi to sleep, but Kai blocked Aichi with his other arm.

"I'm holding onto him so he can't get away. You don't need to put him to sleep," Kai informed.

Takuto looked at Kai suspiciously. " _Could he be…?"_ Takuto thought.

"Why are you-?" Aichi began.

"Just watch it," Kai answered cutting off Aichi's question. Aichi hid his warm smile and looked up at the monitor. He seemed to have been distracted from running away.

The battle soon finished when both Beyblades burst, but Shu was announced as the winner. Aichi took a breath of relief and had a bright look on his face. Kai looked away angrily at Aichi's reaction when Shu won. "Now that that is over with, shall we leave?" Takuto asked impatiently.

Kai began to tug on Aichi's arm telling him that they were leaving. The car was waiting not too far. Aichi saw that Shu faint and panicked a little. "Wait…! Shu is in pain. I want to know if he'll be okay!" Aichi exclaimed.

"You stalled long enough," Takuto declined. He placed his hand on Aichi's forehead causing Aichi to suddenly felt tired.

Kai caught Aichi as he fell. "Did you really need to do that?" Kai asked in a slightly angered tone.

"He would've made us stay until Shu Kurenai woke up if I had let him continued. Also… you really enjoy patronizing him, don't you? Even though you yourself suffer," Takuto commented smugly.

Kai turned away. "Be quiet," he responded ticked off.

"You should clean your act up, Kai. I know I don't have you in my full control anymore," Takuto said.

"How are you so-?" Kai asked before being cut off.

"If you continue defying me, I may rethink the idea of you watching over him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," Takuto explained. Kai looked down at Aichi's sleeping face, he looked pained emotionally. "Hurry along then. Carry him in the car," Takuto ordered.

Kai carried Aichi in his arms. When they reached the car, Xhaka noticed Aichi being carried off, but he had Shu in his arms already. "That's the kid! Hey! Wait!" Xhaka shouted he began running to the car.

Shu slowly woke up and saw Aichi being placed in the car by Takuto and Kai. "Aichi…!" Shu cried with as much strength as he could. He tried to get out of Xhaka's hold and get to Aichi. "Aichi!"

"Shu, calm down," Xhaka said. They ran to the car, but the car was already ready to drive off.

"No! Aichi!" Shu shouted. He reached his hand out as the car drove away.

Inside the car, Aichi was asleep at the back. Kai was sitting at the back with Aichi, who was leaning on Kai's arm. "Kai, hand Blaster Blade to me," Takuto ordered. Kai turned to Aichi and tried to get Blaster Blade out of Aichi's grip. Even though he was asleep, he continued to hold onto Blaster Blade tightly.

Kai pried Aichi's fingers off of Blaster Blade and handed him to Takuto. "You can't help him now. Your Vanguard now belongs to Void," Takuto told Blaster Blade chuckling. They were approaching the Tatsunagi Building.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **I'm not sure when I'm going to post the next one, but I will post it when I am done with the chapters. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this story, but I really enjoy writing and posing this story! ^^**

 **Anyways, I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	8. The Seal

When Aichi woke up, he was wearing the clothes that they provided him last time he was captured. He was laying on the floor of a familiar cage, he sat up and turned to the door as Miwa walked inside with a tray of food.

"It's time for dinner, Aichi," Miwa informed enthusiastically. He opened the cage and put the tray inside before walking about outside and locking the cage again.

Aichi looked down at the food and turned his head. He curled up leaning on the bars away from the entrance. "You aren't going to eat?" Miwa asked disappointedly. _"I knew it wouldn't be that easy,"_ he thought to himself.

"I'm not hungry…" Aichi answered.

Miwa sighed and opened the cage door again. He closed it behind him and picked up the tray before walking over to Aichi. "You should eat something," Miwa said holding out a spoon of food.

Aichi turned his head and refused him. "I don't want it," he responded seriously.

"Come on! Quit being so stubborn!" Miwa whined impatiently.

Aichi took a glance over to the unlocked door. " _Maybe I can…"_ He thought. He looked over at Miwa. Suddenly in a split second, Aichi quickly got up and pushed Miwa away from him before running to the door.

"Hey! Get back here!" Miwa exclaimed. He grabbed Aichi's wrist as he was about to reach the door and pulled him back causing him to fall on his backward.

"Let me go!" Aichi cried. He struggled and tried to reach the bars on the door.

"Aichi, sleep!" Miwa ordered. The gem on his gloves began glowing and Aichi felt tired. Aichi tried to fight the sudden exhaustion but soon fell unconscious. Miwa took a sigh of relief before looking over at the spilled food. "Looks like that was a waste of food. Geez…" he said looking at Aichi, who was in his arms. He laid Aichi on the floor before cleaning up the food onto the tray. When he was done, he walked outside of the cage, locking the door behind him.

when Miwa walked out of the room, he was greeted by Takuto. "He doesn't listen to me. He didn't even eat a single bite, instead, he tried to run away," Miwa informed sounding slightly frustrated.

Takuto sighed and scratched his head. "Well, I should request the master to control him for even the simplest things. But I don't want to disturb him... Actually, I think I have an idea to make him eat," he explained. "Take that tray to the kitchen and ask for another meal to be made. I'll send someone else to pick it up and take it to him," he ordered.

"Alright," Miwa responded. Takuto walked away and headed to the guest room floor of the building. He opened the door and saw Kai standing by the window looking outside.

"Kai, seems I need you to be Sendou's caretaker after all," Takuto said.

Kai didn't even turn his head to look at him as if he knew that Takuto would ask him to take care of Aichi. "What makes you think he'll do what I say?" He asked.

"It seems that you're the only one he trusts here. Then again… I can probably take control of Shu Kurenai and make him take care of Sendou for me," Takuto answered tauntingly.

Kai turned to send a glare to Takuto. Takuto knew that whenever he mentions Shu and Aichi together, it touched a nerve inside Kai. "So what do you think?" Takuto snickered.

"I'll do it," Kai agreed in a low voice.

"Great, all you'll need to do is take food to him and make sure he eats. Also, make sure he doesn't break the crystals. I'd rather not have to watch him in the security cameras all day," Takuto explained. "I'll leave you alone then. Take food to Sendou later, Miwa Taishi tried to make him eat earlier, but it seemed that he didn't listen to him." Takuto added before leaving Kai's room and closing the door behind him.

Later that night, Kai went down to the kitchen to get Aichi's food before taking the elevator up to Aichi's room. Kai opened the door and found Aichi asleep on the floor of the cage.

The gem stopped glowing and Aichi slowly woke up. Kai walked inside the cage and made sure to block the exit so that Aichi wouldn't be able to get to it. "Eat it," Kai ordered putting the tray on the ground.

Aichi looked up at Kai cautiously and saw that Kai had his head turned away from him. Kai turned to Aichi to see why he wasn't eating. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Kai asked with a slightly aggressive tone.

"Um…" Aichi muttered.

Kai sighed. "What is it? You can tell me," he asked trying to use a softer tone.

"I want to go outside sometimes… being stuck here, it makes me... I don't know..." Aichi answered trying to think of a word to describe how he was feeling.

"Those gloves will make you sleep, so you can't even tell how much time has passed when you wake up," Kai informed.

"But, being indoors all day… I don't want that…" Aichi said sadly.

"Eat, then we'll talk, alright?" Kai requested.

Aichi looked down quietly and slowly began eating the food on the tray. He felt uncomfortable since Kai was just waiting for him to finish eating. "Um…" Aichi muttered.

Kai let out a loud sigh and scratched the back of his head. "You don't need to be so nervous around me, alright? Just talk to me like you would with Shu Kurenai," he said sounding annoyed.

"I-I'm sorry," Aichi apologized panicked.

There was a moment of silence. "What did you want to say before?" Kai asked.

"Well, shouldn't you be doing something right now? I mean, you're just waiting for me to finish eating and…" Aichi explained. "Maybe you should do something too," he finished.

"What else would I do?" Kai asked.

Aichi jumped. "I don't know, it's just that you look sad… is there something wrong?" He asked shyly.

"I look sad?" Kai responded.

"You never smile and I feels like you are lonely. Um... well! I've experienced that and I was sad before I met Shu," Aichi explained, he revealed a warm smile when he said 'Shu'.

"Bringing up Shu Kurenai again…" Kai said trying the hide his anger.

Aichi looked at Kai scared before closing his eyes in fear of what would happen. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you angry," Aichi cried terrified by Kai's stare. Kai simply just turned away without saying a word.

Aichi looked down sadly before continuing to eat.

After Aichi finished eating, he subtly pushed the tray towards Kai. He looked at Kai's feet nervously. Kai looked at Aichi as he lifted the tray from the ground. After seeing the expression on his face, Kai lightly flicked a finger at Aichi's forehead. Aichi looked at Kai surprised and confused. "Being sad won't fix the problem," Kai said before leaving. Aichi held his forehead and smiled softly.

Kai closed and locked the door behind him. After leaving, Aichi began to feel tired again and fell asleep. The purple gem was glowing brightly.

Meanwhile, Takuto and Void were watching the cameras closely to make sure that Kai wasn't going to release Aichi. "Link Joker, you mentioned that Toshiki Kai may no longer under your control?" Void asked.

"Yes and after seeing that, I seem to be correct," Takuto corrected.

"What are you going to do?" Void asked curiously.

"Nothing. Right now, he's the only person Sendou will listen to and obey," Takuto answered.

"As long as he doesn't release Sendou, he may do as he wishes. But regarding the mastery of Sendou's power; since his power counteracts mine that may show to be a problem since I feed off of darkness and he is fueled by light," Void explained.

"With time, your powers will change Sendou's and it will change into a power that can be linked with yours. His power will adapt to be able to stay inside of you," Takuto responded. "Then… we will finally be able to return to Cray and destroy everything."

"I'll begin trying to fine tune his powers tomorrow. For today, we should celebrate," Void informed.

"Maybe we should invite Sendou to this celebration," Takuto suggested.

"Perfect… I want to see him fold and hear his voice quiver in fear. I want to experience that much before I seal him away in the depths of his heart forever," Void explained sadistically.

"I am quite interested in seeing that as well," Takuto agreed with an evil chuckle.

* * *

Later that night, Aichi woke up and found himself in chains made of Void's essence. His wrists were shackled so that they were above his head and his ankles were shackled to the ground. The chains were extended enough so that he can move around a little, but they kept him from doing anything uncalled for.

"I see that you've awakened, Sendou," Takuto said. Void was standing in the form of a human just beside him. "We're going to release the spell for now. You don't need to be afraid, Void will just be creating a stronger seal on your other soul. When you wake up, it would be like nothing happened," Takuto assured in a tone that an adult would use speaking to a child.

"But then..." Aichi muttered as he struggled. _"But he is the only person that can help me get back to Shu... he as the strength to fight!"_ He thought. He tried to move back as Void began to release the spell. A white light engulfed the surroundings and next thing they knew, Aichi was back to his normal self.

Aichi opened his eyes, they were dull as if his consciousness had not resurfaced yet. Void took the time to tighten the chains before he can completely become conscious.

When Aichi came to, he was faced with Void and Takuto. Aichi starred with eyes filled with willpower. "Sendou, pleasant to see you again," Takuto said. "Your younger self-was hard to reason with, he kept hiding behind a boy named, Shu Kurenai."

"Shu Kurenai?" Aichi asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you don't know that name. To make sure the fragile human mind can endure the spell, you will only remember things that happened while your particular soul is conscious. You can say, the soul that I created through the spell is a completely different person…" Void explained.

"What are you planning on doing to me now?" Aichi asked.

"I am going to strengthen the seal on your particular soul. I can't have you resurfacing while I am in the midst of destroying Earth and Cray. After I'm done with you, you'll never see the light of day ever again," Void answered with a dark chuckle.

"If the memory is powerful enough, not even a spell with your power will be able to suppress it," Aichi said with confidence.

"Yes. There are times I witnessed the memories of your first interaction with Kai resurface. But with this, nothing will be able to trigger a memory strong enough to allow you to awaken," Void replied.

Aichi was quite calm for the situation he was in, which infuriated Void under his calm shell. Aichi knew he wasn't able to use Psyqualia to communicate to Blaster Blade. He shuffled a little to test his restraints, in his position he couldn't do anything. "You aren't going to get away with this, Void," Aichi declared.

"Oh? And who is going to stop me?" Void asked.

"Kai can! And the boy my other self-has become so attached to," Aichi answered. Void looked into Aichi's unflinching eyes.

Void held Aichi's chin so that he couldn't turn away. "Understand this Sendou. I will keep Toshiki Kai under my thumb and I will never allow you to meet with Shu Kurenai ever again," Void declared overconfidently. "Then again… if you just agree and promise to do whatever I say, I wouldn't need a reason to seal you again," Void added just to try.

"I'll never help you with your evil schemes," Aichi declined with serious eyes. Void let go of his chin and walked backward.

"Well, I expected that much, but it was worth a try," Void sighed walking back to where Takuto was standing. "I was hoping that I would be able to hear your voice quiver in fear or at least the slightest flinch. But I guess it was not meant to be... do you have any final words before you're gone for good?" Void asked.

Aichi turned away so that Void wouldn't see his eyes. "Someone will stop you, Void. Even if my consciousness doesn't resurface, there will definitely be someone that will save Earth and Cray," he declared turning back with confidence.

"Shall we begin then?" Void asked.

Aichi closed his eyes and looked down as the lights suddenly dimmed. Suddenly, four black circles, 'Vanguard Circles', circled around Aichi before entering his body. Aichi looked like he was in pain, he was struggling and pulling on the chains. He was trying to hold in his cries of pain, but it was too much. _"There is more energy in this seal!"_ Aichi thought to himself.

When the cries stopped, the chains and shackles were released and darkness surrounded Aichi.

When the darkness cleared away, it revealed that Aichi was back in his younger form in the clothing Void prepared for him. "It seems it worked... while I was at it, I used what was left of my strength to create a fragile seal holding the memories of Shu Kurenai and Toshiki Kai. That should be enough to remove the variable of Toshiki Kai releasing him," Void explained sounding tired.

"Make sure no one mentions 'Shu Kurenai' or the seal will break and keep Toshiki Kai away from his room," Void ordered.

"As you wish, master Void. I will leave you to rest," Link Joker answered bowing before leaving the room. Void stood above Aichi and waited patiently for him to wake up.

Soon Aichi woke up and pulled himself up from the ground. "Where am I…? I thought I got out of here..." he muttered.

"Aichi Sendou, you will be obedient to me," Void ordered.

Aichi looked at the darkness in front of him. He felt strong evil powers and shivered. "You will answer to me and do everything I ask. If you become rebellious, I will have to punish you," Void explained in a dominant tone.

Aichi tried to get away from Void, but he soon found that he was much closer to the bars of the cage than he thought. "I don't want to. Please, let me go… I don't want to be here," Aichi pleaded innocently.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, your powers are much too valuable to not be used. I will be taking my leave for now. Be a good boy and do what you're told," Void answered. Aichi quickly stood up to try to rebel, when he suddenly felt tired. He looked down briefly and saw that the gem on his gloves was glowing. Then he fell forward, but Void caught him before laying him on the ground. "That's a good boy," Void chuckled before disappearing.

Void appeared inside the security camera room, where Kai and Takuto were standing and watching. "Sendou looks like he's back to his weak form once again," Takuto commented.

"Yes, but to keep Sendou's original memories completely sealed, there was no way I would have been able to seal his newer memories is a proper seal," Void explained.

"This time, I'll limit his freedoms even more. Sendou will not be able to escape again," Takuto replied. He turned over to see Kai's distressed face. "Well, Kai? With that face you're making, you seem to be displeased that we decided to seal Sendou's memories for good," Takuto commented.

Kai stormed out of the room. "You better keep Toshiki Kai on a short leash. If you slip off one last time, I may consider disposing of you and creating a new agent," Void warned displeased. "Also, make sure he has no chance of reaching Blaster Blade," Void added before leaving as well.

"This is quite troublesome, I should see if I can get anyone else to be his caretaker before resorting to Kai," Takuto said to himself. He walked outside of the security room to see Kai standing outside of the room Aichi was kept in.

"Don't do anything uncalled for, Kai. I gave you a lot of freedom. But if you act without thought once again, your head won't be the only one at stake," Takuto said. "Don't get me wrong, I can simply defeat you again and put you under my full control once more. But then I won't have anyone that Sendou will listen to for an emergency," he explained before walking away.

Takuto stopped after walking a meter away and turn his head. "Oh! I forgot to mention... you are no longer able to control the crystal, so don't bother trying," he informed before turning back and continuing.

Kai opened the door to the room and walked inside Aichi's cage. " _Your power for myself is what I'm after right…?"_ Kai asked himself. He brushed Aichi's bangs so that they weren't in his face and looked at Aichi's resting face before turning away. "What am I doing? I don't care about him…" he said.

"Who are you…? Please… tell me…" Aichi muttered in his sleep. The gems on his gloves flickered.

That surprised Kai because he knew that Aichi shouldn't have been getting dreams while the gem was activated. "My power…?" he muttered. At that point, Kai knew what he was dreaming about and subconsciously smiled.

"What's this?" Kai asked himself. He touched his cheek and felt water, tears. "What is wrong with me?" He asked himself before walking to the cage door to exit.

" _Kai…"_ a voice called. Kai turned around in shock. At that moment, it seemed like Psyqualia appeared in his eyes and he saw Aichi's true self-tied up with black chains. He looked like a ghost above his physical body. " _Kai!"_ He cried.

"How?" Kai exclaimed confused.

 _"While the seal is still new, he can struggle with his power. Soon, my Vanguard will not have the strength to fight anymore. When that time comes, he will fall into a deep sleep. He will be unable to awaken from that deep sleep, no matter how much stimulation is placed on his memories,"_ a voice explained.

Kai looked to the side to see Blaster Blade in its glass case glowing. _"So, Blaster Blade's showing me this image,"_ Kai thought to himself.

" _Toshiki Kai, you must act to assist my Vanguard,"_ Blaster Blade requested.

"Listen, I told you before…" Kai responded.

" _My Vanguard needs a comrade more than anything right now._ _I cannot speak to my Vanguard right now. Please take care of my Vanguard,"_ Blaster Blade pleaded.

"I'm not making any promises," Kai responded while turning to the door.

The image of Aichi slowly disappeared, returning back inside his body. Kai walked outside of the cage before leaving the room. "What were you doing inside, Kai?" Miwa asked with a chuckle. "I looked at the cameras and saw that you were standing there talking to yourself. Are you losing your mind or were you talking to someone?" He added in a similar tone.

"It's none of your business," Kai responded while looking down. He put his hands in his pocket and tried to walk past him.

"By the way, if you're planning on acting like an enemy, we'll treat you like one. If you're going to go against us, this floor will be off-limits for you," Miwa informed casually.

"If Link Joker cared, he would have taken full control of me by now," Kai answered coldly.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Aichi won't listen to anyone except for the Kai he recognizes. Or… you know who…" Miwa reminded tauntingly.

Kai walked away quickly and took the elevator down to the guest floor.

* * *

The next day, Kai went to the kitchen to see if he had to take some food to Aichi. When he found that someone else was already assigned the job, he took the elevator down to the ground floor. Takuto was inside the living room looking outside of a window to see Kai walked outside. "Keep an eye on him," Takuto ordered Kamui.

"I need to follow that jerk?" Kamui asked.

"It's an order," Takuto said. "I thought of the possibility of him sneaking out, so I placed a tracker on him. Just watch him and make sure he isn't planning anything," he explained holding out a tablet.

"Fine! But I'm not carrying that around," Kamui agreed before stomping outside annoyed.

Meanwhile, Aichi woke up to see Miwa outside of the cage. There was a tray of food on the cage floor in front of him. Aichi looked at the food sadly. "Um… can I go outside to walk around? I don't feel hungry…" Aichi requested nervously.

"Sorry, Aichi. But I can't do that," Miwa answered with a shrug.

"Um… who are you?" Aichi asked shyly.

"I'm one of your friends, Miwa Taishi!" Miwa answered enthusiastically. He pointed at himself with his thumb. Aichi looked down sadly, he remembered the dream that he had and Miwa didn't seem like that person.

"Well lucky for you, we won't be putting you to sleep just yet. Instead, we'll be having some tests on your syncopation with Void," Miwa informed. Aichi looked down thinking that wasn't any better than just falling unconscious again. "Hurry up and eat, we are going to get started once you're done," he ordered.

Aichi took his knees close to his chest. "I'm not hungry…" he repeated sadly.

" _Even without memories, he is as stubborn as always,"_ Miwa thought with an annoyed smile on his face.

" _It is fine, I will take care of this. Just leave the food there and come here,"_ Void's voice ordered.

"Got it!" Miwa answered relieved before walking out the door.

Aichi noticed the growing negative energy inside of the room. A glass case slid up from the ground. The glass case opened and released Blaster Blade. "Sendou, give me your power," Void demanded.

Aichi hesitated and shook his head. "I don't know how to," he responded scared. Void manifested into a human form and held out his hand. Suddenly, Aichi's body moved on its own. His body picked up Blaster Blade from the glass case and began walking to Void. When he stood in front of Void, the lock on his Psyqualia was released and his aura entered Void.

" _My Vanguard!"_ Blaster Blade shouted. Aichi's eyes widened after hearing the familiar voice.

The light attached to Void's arm began to glow violently. Void heard Aichi's screams loudly, it seemed that syncing with dark energy was hurting him.

"It hurts!" Aichi cried in pain. Void tried to synchronize a little longer, pushing him as far as he could. Void released Aichi before the dark energy can injure him and put the seal on his Psyqualia again.

Void took Blaster Blade back to his glass case. Claws held Blaster Blade in place as the glass case closed. The glass case moved underground so that Aichi couldn't get to Blaster Blade.

" _You will get used to the dark energy soon, I will push you a little further next time... we will continue this until we've finally synchronized long enough to take over Earth and Cray,"_ Void said. Aichi was panting on the ground. He was holding his head with his small hands. He looked in great pain and Void simply laughed sadistically. "I'll leave you in the hands of Link Joker for now. I will be back to try synchronizing again," Void mentioned before leaving.

Aichi slowly sat up and weakly looked at the food that Miwa left for him. "Someone, help me…" he cried quietly. He had a throbbing headache and he felt sick to his stomach. After a little while, he felt a little better. He wiped his tears and began thinking of a way out. He looked for the security cameras and saw that there were six around the room; all looking in different angles. He looked over at the plate of food and the glass of water beside it. After looking at it, he got an idea.

Carefully, he moved over to the food and ate it. He drank the water before getting up with the tray. His legs were still shaken by what happened and he slipped and dropped the tray causing the glassware to shatter. He secretly took one of the bigger shattered pieces and hid it inside his sleeve before beginning to take the pieces of glass and put it on the tray.

The door suddenly opened and a man walked inside with rubber gloves and a bucket. Aichi figured that it was a person called in by the people in the camera room to clean up the mess. "Move aside, you'll cut yourself if you clean it up," the man ordered.

Once Aichi moved to the side, the man unlocked the cage and closed the door behind him before cleaning up the broken glass. Aichi knew he wouldn't be able to close the distance, open the door and run away before the man can react, so he stayed put. He was curled up on the other side of the cage.

After cleaning up, the man left and locked the cage door behind him. When he walked into the camera room to report that the job was done, he found Takuto inside looking at the cameras. "Sir, I have already cleaned up the glass pieces. It was not necessary for you to come up here," the man informed.

"No, I just heard about what happened and I came down here to see how he was doing," Takuto answered. On the cameras, Aichi was asleep. He was laying on his side in a position where he wouldn't be cut by the glass in his sleeve. There was a slight bump on his sleeve, but no one seemed to have noticed it.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kai was walking around in town. Kamui was following him closely. "Where is he going?" Kamui asked himself quietly. When he turned the corner, Kai was nowhere to be found. "Great!" Kamui exclaimed before running around looking for Kai. "I should have taken the device!" He added scratching his head in panic as he kept running.

Inside a convenient store, Kai saw Kamui run by. He looked out the window, but he blended in so well, Kamui didn't notice him as he ran past. "I lost the kid that followed me. They'll probably get suspicious soon, so make this quick," Kai said turning to Shu who was behind him.

"You came even though you have him with you?" Shu responded suspiciously.

"I'm not controlled by Link Joker. I can do whatever I want," Kai answered.

There was a short silence. Before Shu asked, "is Aichi alright?"

"He seems fine. His memories of you and I were sealed," Kai answered.

"Oh..." Shu sighed sadly.

"Your time is up now. I'm sure Takuto will ask me to take care of him again, so I'll remind him of you. If he remembers you, he will be much easier to handle," Kai explained before walking to the door.

"Wait!" Shu exclaimed. Kai stopped and turned his head. "Make sure he eats and everything. Make sure he is safe and healthy," Shu requested.

Kai didn't respond and just walked out the door, but Shu knew that Kai will ensure Aichi's safety.

* * *

When Kai got back, it was already late. He walked inside the building and went into the elevator. "Please choose your destination," the ladies operating the elevator asked. Kai looked down at the tablet in front the elevator door and chose Floor 13. "I'm sorry, Toshiki Kai. That floor is off limits for you," they responded.

"Take me to Link Joker," Kai said.

"As you wish," they answered before the screen closed and the elevator began moving. When the elevator stopped, he found himself in the lounge where Takuto was sitting on a couch. He was casually reading a book.

"Oh, Kai. Fancy seeing you here," Takuto greeted as if he knew that Kai would stop by.

"You don't need me to watch Aichi anymore?" Kai asked trying not to sound anticipated.

Takuto turned the page. "No, actually… he has been acting strangely obedient as of late," he answered. The large screen in front of Takuto changed to the room Aichi was in. Miwa was bringing in a tray of food for Aichi and Aichi ate it quietly. He looked completely obedient.

After watching a while, Kai noticed something inside Aichi's sleeve. At that point, he knew that Aichi was just acting. "I don't know if you have noticed, but I sent Katsuragi to follow you around. He followed you, but you suddenly disappeared. Do you honestly think I wouldn't hear about it or simply ignore it? I told you before Kai. If you act like an enemy, you'll be treated like one," Takuto repeated.

"Fine, treat me like an enemy. But you're control of Aichi is just an illusion," Kai responded. When Kai turned around, he heard a loud shattering sound and Miwa shouting, 'Aichi!' coming from the speakers connected to the screen.

"Kai, stop right there," Takuto ordered. Kai stopped and turned around. He looked over at the screen and saw that Aichi that cracked the gem on his left glove using the piece of glass. His right fingers were bleeding because he was gripping the piece of glass so tightly.

"Do you need my help now?" Kai taunted without emotion in his voice.

"Go down there and keep him under control," Takuto ordered, not sounding happy. He watched the screen to see that Aichi was holding the piece of glass in front of his chest. He was threatening Miwa with his life. He wanted Miwa set him free.

"Aichi, come on. Put down the piece of glass," Miwa ordered nervously. He passively had his hands up trying to calm Aichi down.

Soon Kai reached the room, he opened the door and saw that there were men blocking the exit. They weren't close to Aichi at all. "Aichi put it down!" Kai ordered aggressively making Aichi jump.

Aichi recognized Kai faintly. Kai walked into the cage. Aichi took a step back in response and held the glass shard closer to his chest. His hand gripped the glass tighter, which deepened the cut on his fingers.

"Let me out!" Aichi cried.

"Aichi! Drop it right now! Will Shu Kurenai be happy seeing you like this?" Kai asked with a stronger tone. Aichi eyes widened when he heard Shu's name.

"Shu...?" Aichi muttered as his memories began to return. His grip on the shard weakened.

"You won't get hurt if you drop it," Kai assured.

As his final memories returned, Aichi slowly dropped the glass. "Good job, Kai. We'll handle the rest," Takuto said. Miwa ran to Aichi and held his arms behind his back before he can do anything.

"Don't do that again, Aichi. Who knows what would have happened to me if Kai didn't come," Miwa said relieved. Kai turned and walked to the exit.

Aichi remembered Kai's name and began struggling to try to follow him. "Kai…!" He cried struggling stronger.

"Kai really must leave, Sendou," Takuto said as gently as possible. The men picked up the piece of glass that Aichi was holding. "We should get your cut treated," Takuto added.

Aichi had a distant looked in his eyes as Kai continued to walk away. Takuto sighed, "Kai, come here."

Kai stopped and turned his body. "You need me to stay?" He asked trying to sound like he didn't want to do it.

"We all know that you want to stay here, so stop acting," Miwa teased. Kai sighed and walked into the cage. Miwa let go of Aichi, he was calm around Kai. "Jeez, so that is all it takes to make you do something?" Miwa sighed before leaving.

"We'll leave you to treat his wounds," Takuto said placing a first aid kit on the ground before leaving with his men. Kai opened the first aid kit.

"Give me your hand. I can't do anything if you keep it behind your back," Kai said. Aichi felt a warm feeling and smiled slightly before giving his hand to Kai. "This might hurt a little," he warned before pulling the glove off. Aichi cried out a little.

"This will also sting a little," Kai added as he rubbed an alcohol swab on the cut on his first finger. Kai did the same to the rest of Aichi's fingers. Aichi held his mouth with his left hand trying to endure it. Kai then wrapped a bandage around the fingers. "Listen... after what you did just now, you put everyone on high alert. But I'll be here if you need me," Kai explained.

Aichi smiled happily and nodded. Kai seemed to have been acting differently than before. He got up and picked up the first aid kit with him. "Stay there alright?" Kai said.

"Okay," Aichi answered sounding sad. Kai opened the cage door and locked it behind him. Aichi watched as Kai walked to the door. "Um… Bye, Kai!" Aichi said. Kai held up one hand to answer him.

Aichi sat there alone. Since he broke the crystal that made him sleep. Suddenly, darkness filled the room. Aichi shook as he felt Void appear. "Sendou, when will you learn to stop being so rebellious. I was hoping you would be obedient for a little longer," Void asked.

"Shu's going to save me," Aichi declared.

"I didn't expect Kai to remind you of Shu Kurenai to make you drop the glass shard, but that doesn't matter anymore. Now there is a different matter to speak about... about the broken gem. Do you have any idea how much energy it took to create that? I'm going to make you work harder than I planned to. Maybe that will make you repent for what you've done," Void chuckled manifesting into human form. At the same time, Blaster Blade's glass case came up from the ground. "Give me your power," he ordered.

Once again, Aichi's body moved on its own. Aichi picked up Blaster Blade and proceeded to hold Void's hand before connecting his power to Void. After a while of trying to synchronize with Void, Aichi was released and left on the floor in pain.

"I'll do it as many times as you need to adjust," Void said. That time, Aichi felt more drained than before and fell unconscious. Void picked up Aichi's hand and saw the bandages that were wrapped around his fingers.

"Link Joker," Void called sounding angry.

 _"Yes, master Void?"_ Takuto answered from the speakers.

"Make sure that doesn't happen again. Next time, you will not be so lucky," Void ordered dominantly.

"Yes, master Void," Takuto answered before Void disappeared from inside the room. He walked inside and encased Aichi's wrists inside of a lock. "As much as I don't want to rely on Kai, looks like you're far too stubborn and unpredictable to be left anyone else's hands," he said before leaving as well.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **It has been a while. I finished editing the chapter, so I thought that I would post it. I know it is Valentines Day tomorrow and Family Day on Friday (in some places in the world).**

 **So, Happy Valentines Day and Family Day.**

 **But... A new volume of the CardFight Vanguard manga is coming out today, so I decided to release the chapter today!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter and wait patiently for the next one! I'll be back one day, I promise! ^o^**


	9. The End (Finale)

The next day, Aichi woke up. He wasn't sure what time it was since there weren't any windows in the room. He tried to get up, but he found that his hands here held behind his back and something was keeping him down on the ground. Aichi turned his head to see what was holding him back and saw a lock wrapped around both his wrists connected to a short chain that kept him down on the ground. "I need to break this," Aichi said.

After a little while of being alone, Kai walked into the room with a tray of food. "Kai!" Aichi greeted happily. He had a bright smile.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" Kai asked with a slightly friendlier tone than usual.

Aichi shook his head happily. The more time he spent with Kai, the more attached he got to him. "Kai?" Aichi said.

"What do you need?" Kai responded sitting down beside Aichi.

"I want to go outside," Aichi answered. He knew Kai's answer since he always mentioned it.

"Maybe if you are good, Takuto will let you out for a little while," Kai answered. Aichi face brightened and he nodded.

Kai sat down and used the knife and fork to cut the bread and held it out for Aichi to eat using the fork. "Kai…?" He said again.

"What is it?" Kai responded. He sounded annoyed since Aichi always nervously calls his name and waits for reassurance that he can ask his question, before asking his question.

"Can I eat by myself?" Aichi asked. He sat uncomfortably with his hands behind his back.

"I asked Takuto earlier to release the locks so that you can eat by yourself, but he refused," Kai answered. "You'll just need to live with it until you're lower on his radar," he added. He held out the piece of bread, coaxing Aichi to eat it. Aichi slowly opened his mouth.

After Aichi finished eating, he stood up and walked to the exit. Aichi looked down sad and lonely. Darkness began to fill the room. "Toshiki Kai, stay and watch this," Void said. Kai turned around with one hand in his pocket and the other holding the tray.

Kai looked slightly angry. He didn't want to see Aichi hurt while Void tried to connect with him.

Void took a human form and walked towards Aichi. In response, Aichi moved backward as far as the short chain would let him in fear. "No…! Kai, help…!" Aichi cried remembering the pain from trying to sync with Void before.

Kai turned his head. His hand was curled up into a fist inside his pocket. He wanted to stop Void and save Aichi, but he knew that it wasn't the time to fight back yet. "Keep your eyes here, Toshiki Kai," Void ordered. Kai slowly turned back and looked at Aichi's terrified face. Blaster Blade came up from the ground in its capsule.

The lock holding Aichi's arms behind his back and the short chain was released and Void forced him to give over his power. Kai watched as the strand of light attached to Void began glowing brightly. For some reason, Kai heard Aichi's cries. Kai's hand scrunched up tighter in his pocket, he was trying to stop himself from interfering.

" _Sendou, Toshiki Kai is watching and he's hearing you suffer. Maybe making him suffer will encourage you to try harder to sync up,"_ Void said.

" _Don't hurt Kai!"_ Aichi cried. Void held out his hand and a dark hand held Kai's neck and pulled him up. The sudden violent action made Kai drop the tray, causing the plate to shatter and the utensils scattered on the ground. " _Stop!"_ He cried. Both of Kai's hands tried to make Void release his neck, it was getting harder to breathe.

" _I need you to try harder Sendou,"_ Void said. Aichi tried to hold it in longer than last time. When Void thought Aichi couldn't hold out any longer, Aichi's spirit was released and reentered his body. Aichi was left exhausted on the ground.

" _Good job, Sendou,"_ Void praised releasing the hand around Kai's neck. Kai fell to the ground coughing and panting while holding his neck. " _You are of great service to me, Toshiki Kai. Please, keep taking care of Sendou,"_ Void said sounding happy with what happened. Void went down to one knee and held Aichi's chin. Void turned Aichi's head from one side to the other to see if he was still conscious. Aichi seemed to have fallen unconscious.

" _I understand that you are feeling rebellious, but_ _I can't express just how grateful I am to you for weakening his strong resolve yesterday,"_ Void thanked in an evil tone. Void picked up Aichi's right hand and looked at his injury.

"I never thought that a Void of darkness is capable of feeling grateful," Kai responded while standing up.

Void chuckled before letting Aichi's arm fall to the side. " _Toshiki Kai, I request for your eternal loyalty,"_ Void requested.

" _I promise everything of your wildest dreams,"_ Void said before standing up and moving through the air. Void then appeared in front of Kai outside of the cage in a human shape. " _Join me,"_ Void said holding out his hand.

"Not interested. I'm not in need of anything in particular anyway," Kai refused.

" _Well, that is too bad. The offer will remain standing if you ever have any second thoughts,"_ Void responded with a chuckle before disappearing. The capsule that Blaster Blade was lowered back into the ground so that Aichi wouldn't be able to reach it.

Kai cleaned up the plate pieces and utensils. He then put them on the tray before picking it up and leaving the room. Aichi remained unconscious on the floor. Takuto was standing outside the room. "Kai, how did it go? It looks like you have been injured, he wasn't being difficult was he?" Takuto asked with a grin. Kai knew that he was watching the cameras the entire time, but he asked anyway.

"He was fine," Kai answered. He began walking away.

"Oh! Kai, one more thing," Takuto said. Kai stopped and waited to hear what he wanted. "Please tend to his wounds," he requested.

"Sure," Kai answered before walking away.

"You aren't upset, are you Kai?" Takuto taunted. Kai didn't answer and continue walking.

* * *

Kai returned to Aichi's room a little later that day. He quietly opened the door slightly and saw Aichi laying on the ground awake. He was looking up at the ceiling of his cage. Kai opened the door completely which caught Aichi's attention. "Kai..." Aichi greeted weakly.

"How long were you awake?" Kai asked walking to the cage with a first aid kit with him.

"I just woke up..." Aichi answered pulling himself up onto a sitting position. Kai opened the door and walked behind Aichi so that he could replace Aichi's bandages.

"Stay still. This will sting a little," Kai warned as he took out the disinfectant spray from the first aid kit. He undid Aichi's bandage and held Aichi's wrist so that he could spray the wound easier.

"I'm going to spray," Kai informed. Aichi nodded telling Kai that he was prepared. Kai sprayed causing Aichi to wince in pain. "Alright, I'm done. It will be a little difficult to bandage this, but Takuto refused to release this chain," Kai commented once he finished.

Kai looked up to see that Aichi was looking down on the ground intensely. "What are you looking at?" Kai asked.

"I can sense Blaster Blade down there," Aichi answered tapping his heel on the ground where Blaster Blade's capsule was.

"Blaster Blade is down there," Kai confirmed. He was wrapping a bandage around Aichi's hand. After finishing Kai stood up.

"Kai, can you stay here a little longer?" Aichi asked shyly.

"Why would I?" Kai responded looking down at Aichi. His words were cold, but his tone wasn't.

"I don't want to be alone here," Aichi answered sadly. His face was pale from fear, but his eyes were tearing up.

Kai sighed. He put his hand on Aichi's head and ruffled it before sitting down beside him. "Alright," Kai said getting comfortable. He was leaning his back on the bars of the cage.

Aichi shuffled over to Kai, but there was only so far he could go. He leaned his head on Kai's legs. "Is that comfortable for you?" Kai asked.

Aichi smiled and nodded with closed eyes. He noticed that Aichi was really tired. _"I guess he was too scared to sleep,"_ Kai thought to himself. Once he knew Aichi was fast asleep, he gently laid him on the ground before leaving.

* * *

The next few days, Aichi became really close to Kai. Takuto was still on guard, but Aichi was doing everything he was told to do without any rebellion activities.

 _"Recently, Kai has been staying longer... Blaster Blade, I am just fine..."_ Aichi informed Blaster Blade fondly. He used his feet to touch the floor where Blaster Blade was.

Kai was sitting inside Aichi's cage with him as they usually did after a meal. "Kai, how did I really get Blaster Blade?" Aichi asked.

"Why do you ask?" Kai responded in his usual tone.

"It's just that my memories aren't clear and I really want to know clearly," Aichi answered. He still wasn't aware that he was from a different world.

"I gave him to you," Kai answered simply.

"I know, but... when and where? And-… why?" Aichi asked.

"Sometimes I saw you walking home from school. You would always walk home alone with your eyes fixed on the ground avoiding eye contant with everyone. The rare times I saw you, I saw that you always had scuff marks on your face. One day, I just handed you Blaster Blade and said that you can get stronger if you imagine it," Kai explained vaguely. He made it sound like it was no big deal.

"Thank you, Kai… I can't remember anything, but I can feel this strong bond with you and Blaster Blade! It gives me a warm feeling," Aichi said with a warm smile. His voice was soft and filled with genuine feelings.

"Right, I forgot to tell you. Takuto said that he'd let you go outside. But there will be tight security around you," Kai informed knowing that Aichi really wanted to leave the room.

"As long as you are coming with me," Aichi responded happily. He was like a child clinging to his mother.

"Takuto will make me whether I want to or not, so I don't have a choice," Kai answered with a sigh.

Aichi looked down. "Oh… then I'll be taking time out of your schedule when you could be doing something else..." he said sadly.

"It really doesn't matter to me. It isn't like I have anything else to do around here. Link Joker isn't letting me out of the building, so it gives me the opportunity to get fresh air too," Kai assured.

"You aren't allowed to leave?" Aichi asked surprised.

"It seems so," Kai answered.

"Why?" Aichi asked.

"Who knows," Kai answered. He looked down to Aichi who was sitting on the ground with his arms held behind him by a lock. He noticed that Aichi had a guilty look on his face. "It probably doesn't have anything to do with you. Since I'm not under his complete control, he probably feels too cautious to let me out," Kai explained while scratching the back of his head.

"Can we go outside now?" Aichi asked.

"Link Joker is listening, so he will probably send escorts here," Kai responded.

The door opened and Takuto walked in. "Since, you have been obeying us very well, we will let you go outside. But you will remain inside the building garden," he explained in a bored tone. "Of course, I will be accompanying you along with Kamui Katsuragi and Miwa Taishi. And of course Kai will be coming too," he explained further.

Miwa and Kamui walked inside. "Sendou, come to the door," Takuto ordered. He snapped his fingers and the short chain keeping Aichi near the ground was released. The door was open, Aichi slowly got up with difficulty and headed to the door where Takuto was standing. He broke the lock holding his hands behind his back.

"Put your hands together in front of you," Takuto ordered. Aichi turned to Kai, who nodded to him before complying. A lock encased each of his wrists and a short black chain locking them together. A longer chain extended from the center of the short chain, allowing Takuto to hold the other end.

Takuto tugged the long chain a little to coax Aichi to follow closely. Kai and Miwa walked beside him, while Kamui walked behind him. Aichi was surrounded. He couldn't have escaped even if Takuto didn't lock up his wrists.

They walked in an elevator to go down to the ground floor. "Aichi, are excited to finally see the sky again?" Miwa asked as enthusiastically as possible. Aichi responded simply with a shy nod, but he was quite excited.

Once they reached the ground, the doors of the elevator opened. They walked to the back of the building where the entrance to the garden was. "You're allowed roam around, but don't leave this room, Sendou," Takuto informed before opening the door to allow Aichi through.

Aichi looked around in amazement, it was a beautiful garden.

"Wow…!" Aichi exclaimed quietly in awe. He looked really happy. He took in the fresh air. The chains broke leaving the locks on his wrists.

Takuto turned and walked to the door leading back inside the building. "I have an appointment to attend. You three watch over him," Takuto informed. "Keep a close eye on him," he repeated looking closely at all three of them.

Aichi was looking at the flowers childishly. He picked a pink one similar to a rose from the ground and ran to Kai. He held it out with a childish expression on his face. He wanted Kai to take it. "Why are you giving it to me?" Kai asked almost coldly.

Miwa pulled his arm around Kai's shoulders. "Come on Kai, take it he really wants you to have it," Miwa coaxed. Kai looked annoyed, but sighed and took the flower.

"Who might that child be?" A voice asked. Everyone put their guards up and turned to see an old grandma in the garden. "That flower he picked for you, it is one of the two Middlemist Red Camellia flowers left inside this garden," she informed pointing at the flower in Kai's hand.

"Sorry, he shouldn't have picked it if there were only two here," Miwa apologized. He looked over and saw that Aichi had found the second Middlemist Red Camellia flower.

"Aichi, don't pick that one. It's the last one in the garden," Kai ordered. Aichi froze up and stepped away from the flower with his hands up slowly.

Kai turned to the grandma and held out the flower to her. "If it is one of two in the garden, take it," he said.

The grandma shook her head. "There is no need. Please pass the flower along to a loved one of the boy," she answered with a smile before leaving the garden.

Kai watched as she walked away curious. "What's wrong Kai?" Miwa asked alertly.

"It's nothing," Kai answered. " _That person knew that Aichi was trapped here inside of this building…"_ he thought to himself.

Kai began to walked to the door that lead back inside the building. "Where are you going, Kai?" Kamui asked.

"I'm going to the washroom," Kai informed before walking inside.

In the evening, Aichi had to leave the garden and return to his room. Miwa and Kamui kept a close eye on Aichi the entire time. When they walked in the building Aichi gasped.

"What is it, Aichi?" Kamui asked. That was when they saw Shu with the grandma.

"Shu!" Aichi cried. Before anyone was able to react, Aichi got out of their grasp and ran to Shu. He had tears of joy in his eyes as he hugged Shu tightly.

"I'm glad you're alright," Shu said lovingly like a brother.

Suddenly the room was filled with darkness, Aichi hid behind Shu scared because he knew that Void will emerge from it. Shu felt Aichi shaking behind him. "It's alright, Aichi. I'm here," Shu assured to try to calm him down.

"Shu Kurenai, it is pleasant to see you again," Void grinned manifesting into a human form.

"I can't say the same. You're not going to keep him here any longer," Shu declared.

"Let us get this over and done with quickly. Toshiki Kai, you took Sendou's Blaster Blade correct? Don't think your scheme would have gone unnoticed," Void said.

"I guess nothing could get past you. Not in that room," Kai answered. He pulled out his hand from his pocket and revealed Blaster Blade.

"If you knew the entire time, it is pretty foolish of you to let me waltz in there and take it right under your nose," he commented mockingly.

"Kai…?" Aichi muttered nervously.

"I'm sure that you're also the one that invited Shu Kurenai here," Void assumed.

"Then you know what I want," Kai smirked reachig his hand into his pocket.

"Yes, a battle," Void answered with an evil grin. "But do you really think you have any chance of defeating me?" Void asked, a battle stadium opened up from the ground.

"I understand about your entire scheme, but why call Shu Kurenai here? You are simply giving him false hope, is that your intention? You know and accepted that you will lose, but still try to resist your fate? I hope you are clever enough to realize that: even without Sendou's power, I can defeat you easily," Void grinned.

"You'll find out my intentions. Not noticing sooner will be your undoing," Kai responded confidently.

"I am aware that I have only been able to get Sendou to synchronize with me for 3 minutes. Is that really something to be overconfident about? You should realize that, that will be more than enough time to destroy you," Void answered.

"If you think that Aichi will help you in this battle, you're wrong. But if you want to use his power, I will still win," Kai declared confidently. He pulled out Dragonic Overlord.

"You aren't going to hesitated after I told you that, are you?" Kai taunted. He tossed Blaster Blade to Aichi and Shu's direction.

"I would suggest considering all of the factors that affect the flow of this battle," Kai said.

"I don't need your concern. I can do anything I want. It will destroy your resolve," Void responded angrily.

Shu caught it and saw a glimpse of Kai nodding. "Aichi, do it," Shu encouraged. Aichi looked up at Shu with scared eyes. Shu leaned down to Aichi and whispered inside his ear, "you can control your powers, even when you have merged with someone."

Shu stood up straight again and saw Aichi's eyes which were filled with resolve. "Sendou, come here," Void ordered. Void seemed to be obsessed with Kai's words, consumed by the need to prove him wrong. Aichi nodded to Shu and walked towards Void.

The lock on Aichi's Psyqualia was lifted and Aichi fainted while in Void's hold. Void turned and walked to the stadium letting Aichi fall. Shu ran to Aichi and caught him before he could hit the ground. All of Blaster Blade's colour was gone.

" _It is up to Kai and Aichi now,"_ Shu thought. He watched the battle where he was with Aichi's empty body.

"I can feel his immense power flowing within me… Shall we begin, Toshiki Kai?" Void asked with a grin.

"Let us raise the stakes, since you are so confident," Kai suggested. "If you lose, you will release Aichi, the real him. And you will never go after him again," he suggested.

"And if I were to win?" Void asked. He sounded pretty confident, even knowing one minute into the connection had passed.

"I will never defy you again and stand by your side. As long as I am there, you will have no trouble with Aichi," Kai answered.

"Interesting proposal… I accept," Void answered entering his launch stance. Kai did the same.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Let it rip!"

They both launched at the same time. Schwarzschild Dragon's spin looked much more powerful and aggressive than Dragonic Overlord's. "Burst that pathetic Beyblade," Void ordered laughing. Suddenly, Void felt something. It was something in his inner core. "What is this…?!"

There was a bright light illuminating from the dark core of Schwarzschild Dragon as it collided with Dragonic Overlord. Both beyblades were knocked backwards.

"This power… it should have been powerful enough to destroy it…!" Void exclaimed in pain. There was a bright light glowing in Void's chest as well.

"His power isn't your own, using him isn't true strength. Aichi is the one in control of his own power. You cannot control his power," Kai said.

"What do you know about true power?" Void asked.

Kai laughed. "What do I know? Well, a good friend reminded me a while ago," he began. Dragonic Overlord was running around the stadium. "You see... it comes from within! Within yourself!"

"You wanted to take advantage of his power as well, what makes me taking advantage of his power different?" Void asked with a chuckle.

"Did you have a change of heart? Because if I remember correctly, until a while ago, you were looking at him with your thirsty eyes filled with lust... lust for his power," Void added.

" _Kai wanted to use him too? Why did he have a change of heart?"_ Shu asked himself.

"That is true, I wanted his power before. But I prefer having the real him around me, growing together with me. Frankly, I had more connection with him before he changed this way," Kai answered. Dragonic Overlord was spinning at the center of the stadium while Schwarzschild Dragon spun around the stadium.

"If you don't hurry, time will be up," Kai reminded.

Void began to hear Aichi trying to suppress his cries. "Tch, looks like I'll need to attack. Don't get in my way Sendou!" Void shouted angrily. Schwarzschild Dragon attacked Dragonic Overlord and a huge explosion broke out. They continued to battle fiercely.

They both began to spin slower. Aichi was keeping his power within himself. "It's the end, it is time for your Eternal Flame!" Kai exclaimed. Dragonic Overlord's spin rapidly quicked and flames appeared around it.

Dragonic Overlord charged. "I will not let you win!" Void answered. Aichi's cried intensified as Void began taking control over his power forcefully. Schwarzschild Dragon withstood the attack and a dark omen surrounded it.

At that point, Void had already far surpassed three minutes. " _Kai! Shu!"_ Aichi cried.

"Endure it, Sendou! It will only take a second," Void ordered. Schwarzschild Dragon charged in for the final attack.

"Aichi, we need to do this together!" Kai shouted as Dragonic Overlord charged in as well. When they collided, Schwarzschild Dragon broke into a million pieces by the intense light within the core.

"What?!" Void exclaimed in surprise. Aichi was released. "I won't let you do this?! Not when I'm so close!" Void exclaimed trying to grasp Aichi's body.

There was light within the darkness of Void. "After forcing him to stay merged for an extended amount of time and draining his power from him, some of his light is left inside of you. Looks like you were far too ignorant to notice what you've done," Kai explained.

"No! Not like this!" Void explained as the darkness began disappearing. The replicas of Miwa and Kamui disintegrated into shadows too.

Aichi opened his eyes a little, "Shu… Kai... I did it..." he muttered.

"Yes, you did great," Shu praised with a smile. Aichi smiled as a tear fell down his face. The dark spell was beginning to leave him.

He closed his eyes and returned to his true self. "So this is the real you…" Shu said sadly. Kai helped Aichi lean in the wall.

Aichi remained unconscious. "Void is gone now, so that means he is freed from that dark spell," Kai informed.

"Takuto…" Aichi muttered in his sleep.

Shu looked down at Aichi concerned. "Believe it or not, he isn't the little kid that you took care of right now. You don't need to worry about him anymore," Kai reminded.

"I know..." Shu answered but he continued to look worried.

"He is probably talking to the good Takuto, you don't need to worry," Kai assured.

"The good Takuto?" Shu asked. Kai nodded.

Inside Aichi's consciousness, Aichi was floating around in a blue space, he felt a familiar presence. "Takuto…? Why are you here?" Aichi asked.

"Sendou, thank you for freeing me," Takuto thanked.

"Freeing you? But I didn't do anything…" Aichi answered.

Takuto shook his head with a smile. "Aichi, you don't know this, but I am very grateful for what you've done for me…" Takuto said. Aichi looked at him confused.

"Allow me to explain. This form of your spirit has been trapped inside a spell for a long time. Now that you are freed, you don't remember anything that happened. There was another spirit that took your place inside your body… that spirit saved me and I am very grateful," Takuto explained.

"Another spirit…? Oh right, Void and Link Joker said something about that and there was a boy that he really enjoyed being with," Aichi responded.

"Correct. That is what I wanted to speak with you about right now. In spite of my gratefulness, I wish that you would let your other spirit take your place for a while longer," Takuto requested. He held out a light blue light. "It is your choice in the end, but please hear his request and resolve," he pleaded handing Aichi the blue light.

Aichi took the light from his hands and smiled after feeling the warm light. " _I want to stay with Shu! I don't want to disappear! Not like this!"_ The spirit cried. Aichi smiled and held the light close to his heart. All he needed was Blaster Blade's approval.

"Blaster Blade, what do you think?" Aichi asked.

"I cannot guarantee your safety, My Vanguard. With that weak and immature spirit taking over your body," Blaster Blade answered. Aichi and Takuto heard the lie in his voice.

"Blaster Blade, you can tell your Vanguard what you really think. I know, you just want to be by his side, but that 'weak and immature spirit' is your Vanguard as well," Takuto said with a giggle.

Aichi joined in. "Can I trade off whenever I'm needed?" He asked.

"I can leave that power to Blaster Blade. When your avatar thinks it is necessary, he will switch you with the other spirit," Takuto answered.

"Alright then, I don't mind standing on the sidelines for a while," Aichi responded happily.

"You have my gratitude, Sendou," Takuto thanked.

"Can I have a little time?" Aichi asked.

"Yes, however long you need," Takuto responded.

"Oh! And about the matter with Toshiki Kai. Call me when you would like me to open the portal back to your world," Takuto said.

"Alright, thank you, Takuto," Aichi answered.

The surrounding lit up and the next thing he knew he was lying in a hospital bed. There were wires attached to his head.

"Where am I?" Aichi asked himself. He slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position.

The door opened and Shu walked inside with a jug of water and cups. "You're awake," he said. He didn't sound that enthusiastic.

"You must be the boy that took care of me," Aichi commented to break the silence.

"Yes, my name is Shu Kurenai," Shu responded bowing his head.

"There is no need to be so formal. It is nice to meet you, my name is Aichi Sendou. But you probably know that already," Aichi said with an awkward laugh. Shu lifted his head up.

"It's nice to meet you too," Shu answered. "Here I'll pour some water for you," he said. He walked to the table beside Aichi's bed. He poured a glass of water for him.

" _He must miss that other spirit,"_ Aichi thought to himself. He smiled and looked at Shu.

"You don't need to worry. I am going to trade off with the spirit you've been taking care of," Aichi assured.

Shu turned to him. Aichi smiled and took Shu's hands. "I just wanted to meet the boy that everyone has been talking about," Aichi informed gently.

"Thank you, Aichi. It's been a little weird… I know you aren't the Aichi I know, but you sound so much like him," Shu responded.

"I have one more matter to deal with. After that, I'll trade off," Aichi said. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the spirit within him. Soon Shu heard a voice. " _I want to be with Shu… please, let me be with Shu…"_ a voice pleaded.

"Don't worry, you'll be with him soon," Aichi answered in a gentle tone.

"Will it really be okay?" Shu asked.

"It's fine. I'm not in rush to return. Also it was a special request from Takuto," Aichi answered happily. The doctor and Kai walked inside.

"I see you decided to wake up," Kai said.

"Kai, looks like you're back to your usual self," Aichi responded jokingly.

"Of course," Kai answered. They all saw him smile slightly.

"If you would let us check on your health," the doctor said.

"Yes, thank you," Aichi answered. He sat on the bed and complied with whatever he was asked to do by the doctor.

"It looks like you're in top shape. Please take care of yourself," the doctor said after checking everything. The headpiece with wires were taken off and Aichi was free to go.

"Thank you," Aichi thanked bowing his head.

They walked out of the hospital. It was dark and they stood at the park. "Kai, I think it is time for you to get back," Aichi said.

"What? You're staying?" Kai asked.

"I promised Takuto that I would stay," Aichi answered with a smile. Aichi looked to the side at Shu. At that point, Kai knew why he was staying.

"Alright then, I'll tell everyone you're alright," Kai answered. Aichi nodded and he called Takuto with his Psyqualia. The portal opened.

"Thank you, Kai... for everything," Aichi thanked.

"What are you thanking me for?" Kai asked before entering the portal.

Aichi turned to Shu, "alright, I guess I should trade off. I'm not sure how much longer he can wait," he joked. He heard the voice loud and clear. The voice was beaming with anticipation.

"Thank you, Aichi for doing this," Shu thanked bowing.

"I told you, you don't need to be formal," Aichi responded putting his hand on his shoulder. "It means alot to me to know that he met someone like you," he said. He took a step back.

"Alright," Aichi said. He closed his eyes and took a breath before falling forward. As he fell forward, he turned back into his young self. Shu caught Aichi before he could fall on the ground.

"Aichi?" Shu called.

Aichi slowly opened his eyes. He had the most childish smile on his face. "Shu…!" Aichi cried. He jumped on Shu and hugged him tightly. He was crying in Shu's shirt.

Shu smiled and patted his head. "Hey, if you don't stop crying I might start crying too," Shu said. Aichi looked up at him with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Shu…" Aichi apologized.

"What are you sorry about?" Shu responded with a smile.

"I ran off without telling anyone," Aichi answered.

"That wasn't your fault. It is okay. You're back… that's all that matters," Shu responded. Aichi let go of Shu and rubbed the tears out of his eyes with his small hands.

"For a while, I didn't think I'll ever see you again," Aichi said with a beaming smile.

"What matters is that we are together now," Shu answered. He smiled gently. "Let's go home," he suggested. Aichi nodded enthusiastically. He held Shu's hand and walked back to Shu's apartment.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **I'm so sorry for the late chapters! Late is an understatement at this point, but I managed to finish editing. I have done some thinking and I have decided to end it off here for Vanguard Burst, just because I have only written one chapter after this one. So I guess it is done for now.**

 **But please give your input on this: should I continue? Should I not? It is a pretty happy ending right now and I can write about Beyblade Burst God if I put the time into it. And i** **f I were to finish the story and upload it, then I would probably create another story like what I did for XY Vanguard.**

 **Anyways, this section of the story is complete! And for all the people that enjoyed the story so far, I hope the ending was satifying for all of you. Thank you for all your support! All of you are the best and I shall return one day with a completed story (hopefully) next time! :3**


	10. Extra Chapter: I'll Be There For You

Before going to bed, Shu was setting up to sleep on the couch. He had sat on a chair by Aichi's bedside until he fell asleep. So he thought, but Aichi opened Shu's room door peaking out. Shu can see that Aichi's hand on the door was shaking like he had a bad dream.

"What's wrong Aichi?" Shu asked. He began walking towards Aichi.

"Shu, I don't want to sleep alone. What if Void comes back and takes me away?" Aichi responded. His voice was shaky.

Shu patted Aichi's head. "Don't be scared. Void isn't coming back," he assured confidently.

"But I'm scared," Aichi cried.

"I'll be beside you until you are sleep again, alright?" Shu suggested.

Aichi shook his head and hugged Shu. "I'll just get another nightmare and wake up. I will be too scared to sleep again afterward," he responded.

"Alright… I'll sleep beside you. If anything happens, I'll be with you," Shu said while scratching the back of his head. Aichi looked up happily and nodded.

They walked into Shu's room and got into bed. "Shu, I want to stay with you forever," Aichi said sounding drowsy.

"You can, so sleep okay? We need to go to school tomorrow," Shu answered. _"I say that, but there is someone else in him that is waiting to return back to his life,"_ he thought, but he smiled for Aichi. Aichi was quick to sleep. He was lying on his side facing Shu.

Shu watched Aichi. "You must have been lonely while you were captured by Void," he said quietly. He pushed a strand of hair away from Aichi's face. He then closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Shu woke up. Aichi was fast asleep hugging onto his arm tightly. Shu slowly got out of bed making sure not to wake Aichi up. When he got up, he tucked Aichi in with his blanket before quietly changing into his jogging clothes. He took a glance at Aichi to make sure he was still asleep before leaving the apartment.

Aichi woke up before Shu came back from his jog. He saw that Shu wasn't beside him. "Shu…?" He muttered. He sat up and scratched his eyes. Aichi's Psyqualia activated and Blaster Blade appeared beside his bed. He was kneeling on one knee formally.

"Blaster Blade," Aichi greeted with a smile.

" _My Vanguard, I'm happy to see you are completely healthy,"_ Blaster Blade commented. He bowed his head down to show more respect.

"Blaster Blade…?" Aichi asked.

" _My Vanguard, I thought that once everything was over and done with, I would tell you who you really are and what happened inside you,"_ Blaster Blade informed.

"Who I am…?" Aichi asked. His Psyqualia got more intense. Next thing Aichi knew, he was floating inside a light blue space. "What is this place…?" he asked. There was a lot of positive energy around him. He looked around and saw the older Aichi's spirit sealed inside of a crystal like structure unconscious.

" _The knowledge you have is the tie between you and him,"_ Blaster Blade said. " _The faint memories that you see is what happens when something triggers his consciousness to resurface. Now you shouldn't be getting any more memories because he is no longer fighting to resurface,"_ he added.

"So who is he?" Aichi asked.

" _He is you. He is a version of yourself,"_ Blaster Blade answered.

"Aichi! Wake up!" A voice called from a distance. Aichi recognized the voice immediately,

"Shu!" Aichi exclaimed. "Blaster Blade…?"

" _What do you need, My Vanguard?"_ Blaster Blade asked.

"Can you tell me more about it later…? I need to get back to Shu before he gets worried," Aichi requested in an urgent tone. He didn't want to keep Shu waiting.

" _Of course, My Vanguard,"_ Blaster Blade answered. The space warped and Aichi opened his eyes. He was laying on the bed and Shu was standing at the bedside. He looked concerned.

"Good morning, Shu," Aichi greeted with a smile.

Shu smiled back. "Good morning. You made me worry when you didn't wake up right away. Get up, breakfast is ready," he said before walking to the door. Aichi nodded and got changed.

After getting changed and washing his face, he walked out and saw Shu at the table cleaning Spriggan. "Shu, can I clean Spriggan?" Aichi asked enthusiastically.

"Okay, but eat your breakfast first," Shu answered. Aichi's face glowed and he ran to his seat on the table. He placed Blaster Blade caringly on the table.

"Thank you for the meal," Aichi thanked before beginning to eat.

"We need to sign you into school again, before you can go back to class," Shu informed.

"Okay," Aichi answered. He wasn't enthusiastic about going to school. "Oh! Shu, how is your shoulder?" Aichi asked remembering that Shu injured his shoulder before.

"It's as good as new. My friend's grandfather is talented in treating these kinds of injuries so after a while of rehabilitation, I healed completely," Shu explained. He moved his shoulder without any problems. "I'm sorry, Aichi. I should have tried to save you, but I couldn't. I needed my shoulder to heal, but by the time I healed completely, Kai had saved you," he apologized.

"You shouldn't be apologizing. You came for me!" Aichi responded. "I should be sorry Shu!" He exclaimed.

Shu looked at him surprised and confused. "What are you sorry for?" Shu asked.

"You probably don't know, but you lost against Void because of me," Aichi answered sadly. "I made your shoulder worst and you weren't able to battle at your full strength," he elaborated.

"Aichi, that's not your fault. I'm okay now and you're here right now, so you shouldn't feel sorry," Shu responded. Aichi still looked upset and guilty. "Hm… you know, if you really think about it. Void needed to give us the disadvantage to defeat us. That is how good of a team we are," he added after seeing that Aichi looked so guilty.

"Really?" Aichi asked. Shu nodded with a smile. Aichi's face changed into a childish smile. "Thank you Shu, you always make me feel better," Aichi said happily. He continued eating his breakfast.

After finishing eating, they went to school. While they were walking, there was someone watching them in the distance. Aichi noticed the presence, but he tried to hide it. Aichi ran and held Shu's arm enthusiastically.

"Is something wrong?" Shu asked as he got pulled by Aichi. Aichi shook his head, but continued to pull Shu so that he would walk quicker.

* * *

After school, Aichi followed Shu to the roof. "Shu, you look excited about something," Aichi said looking up a Shu.

"Do I really?" Shu responded turning to him. He looked like his normal self, but Aichi knew that he was excited about something.

"You do!" Aichi answered enthusiastically.

Shu smiled. "I guess you can say that I'm excited. It's something I never thought I'd do," he answered. They soon reached the room and saw that the Bey Club, Wakiya and Principal Hidetaro were gathered there already.

"Since you have qualified for the National Tournament, the Bey Club has also been invited to the Team Tournament. Because this tournament is a five versus five format, Shu and Wakiya wishes to join the Bey Club," Hidetaro explained professionally.

"Shu and Wakiya?!" Valt exclaimed excited. Aichi looked up at Shu surprised. He was excited for Shu.

"Please, let me join the team. Together we can win," Shu said walking to Valt.

"You guys won't be able to win without me, so I guess I will join," Wakiya bragged walking beside Shu. Aichi stood to the side happily watching them.

"Shu…! Wakiya…!" Valt exclaimed touched.

"Well, I will be leaving you to choose your captain," Hidetaro said before leaving the rooftop.

"Since I am now on the team, we will be training my way. So I'm gonna be the captain," Wakiya said.

"What!? Who elected you captain? I can't even imagine you as the captain!" Kiyama exclaimed.

"I didn't join the BeyClub just to battle. You should thank us for joining the club. Otherwise, you guys can't even enter the team competition," Wakiya responded.

"But shouldn't Shu be our leader then? He is the strongest one out of all of us," Valt asked. Everyone turned to Shu.

"A good captain isn't the strongest blader, a good captain is someone who keeps the team together," Shu answered refusing the offer.

"Keeps the team together?" Valt responded.

"Right, a team without a good captain will fall apart easily. When the captain is strict, or when he's gentle, he's thinking of the team. A captain is someone who recognizes everyone in the team as Bladers," Kiyama explained.

"That's me to a 'T'," Wakiya declared with a smirk.

"No it isn't!" Kiyama exclaimed.

Aichi suddenly his chest began hurting and he walked to Shu in pain. "Shu…" Aichi muttered.

"What's wrong?" Shu asked turning to Aichi. Aichi fell forward into Shu's arms. He looked at Aichi carefully. "What hurts?" He asked concerned. Aichi pointed to his chest.

"Alright, let's get you home then," Shu responded. He took off his bag and put it back on so that the bag was on his chest. He then pulled Aichi onto his back. "I need to take Aichi home, he isn't feeling well. So you guys decide who is going to be captain," he informed.

"Bye, Shu."

"Shu, wait!" Wakiya called. Shu turned around and waited for what he needed to say. "We are going to go on a training camp to one of my cottages the day after tomorrow. You can bring him with you, but make sure you have everything you need," Wakiya explained.

"Wait! Who said we were going to your cottage?!" Kiyama exclaimed.

"I did. Remember, I joined your team, so you will follow my training," Wakiya answered. "Just meet at the train station at 9 AM," he added.

"Okay," Shu agreed.

They continued to argue as Shu walked back home with Aichi on his back. "Are you feeling alright?" Shu asked. He heard Aichi's breath become more and more unstable. Shu was getting more and more nervous. " _This was all so sudden… what happened?"_ Shu thought to himself.

They soon got to the apartment building and Shu walked up to his room and opened the door. Shu carefully placed Aichi on the bed. "Shu…" he muttered.

"It's alright, we're home. I'll get you some water," Shu informed. As he was about walked away, Aichi reached for his hand and caught it.

" _Shu Kurenai, I must ask for your assistance once more,"_ a familiar voice said.

"Blaster Blade?" Shu asked turning back to Aichi. Aichi had fallen unconscious, but his hand still gripped Shu's tightly. "What is happening?" Shu asked.

" _This boy's frail spirit cannot take the strain of containing such immense power alone. I didn't think much of it before since it was only slowly wearing away at his spirit. But it suddenly went out of control. This boy's spirit has not fully matured yet, which makes it weaker than the older, more mature spirit,"_ Blaster Blade answered.

"But before I met him, we was just fine," Shu pointed out.

" _Yes. But before you met him, the other spirit inhabiting his body was constantly fighting to resurface. That took the burden off this spirit's shoulders. But now, the situation has changed. The mature spirit can no longer take the burden as he is now."_ Blaster Blade explained.

"What can I do to help?" Shu asked.

" _Sharing his power with another person is the only way to relieve the burden on his spirit. If you do not wish to do this, I will have no choice but to release his inner soul and return him back to his own world-"_ Blaster Blade answered.

"I'll do it," Shu agreed cutting off Blaster Blade's explanation.

" _This will be different from the last he shared power with you. You will directly receive his power. Even the Void found that taking the power directly was far too dangerous,"_ Blaster Blade warned.

"I'll do it for Aichi," Shu responded.

" _Okay, I will quickly prepare for the exchange,"_ Blaster Blade informed. After a second, Aichi began scream in pain as his aura became unstable. Aichi pulled his hand away from Shu and held his chest.

"I'm sorry for this, Aichi. But I'll relieve you in a second," Shu said.

" _Hold out Storm Spryzen and think about taking his agony away,"_ Blaster Blade commanded.

Shu looked at Aichi. "Aichi, give me some of your agony. It's okay, this will help you," Shu said. Aichi's aura began moving to Spriggan. In response, Shu felt a sharp pain as Aichi began to calm down. "Give me more! Until you feel better!" Shu exclaimed.

Aichi soon opened his eyes and saw that Shu was in pain from absorbing his power. Aichi slowly lifted up his hand so that he was blocking Spriggan stopping the transfer. "Thank you, Shu…" Aichi muttered. "I'm okay now…" he added before his aura disappeared.

Shu held his chest. "Shu…! Are you alright…?" Aichi asked concerned. He sat up, but soon fell forward because of his exhaustion.

"I'm alright… I just need to get used to this," Shu assured with a pained smile. He helped Aichi lay down.

"I'm sorry… all I do is cause more trouble to you…" Aichi apologized. He looked really tired.

"It's fine. That's why I'm here. I'll be with you and take care of you always," Shu responded. Aichi gave him a loving smile. "You should get some sleep. You need as much rest as you can get before the trip," he said. Aichi nodded slightly before falling asleep.

"I feel so tired… but I still have to do so many things before I could rest…" Shu said to himself. He slowly stood up and walked to the living room. "No good…" he said to himself as he found that his body was getting too drained. His body was working to keep the power inside him under control.

Suddenly, the front door unlocked and his mom and dad walked inside. "Mom…? Dad…? Why are you here…?" Shu asked.

"Shu?! What's wrong?!" His mother exclaimed running to his side as he was about to collapse. She felt Shu's head and felt that nothing was wrong.

"I'm just a little tired…" Shu answered before falling asleep. His mom and dad looked at each other confused and concerned. His dad put down his things and carried Shu into his room.

Shu's mother and father walked inside and saw Aichi sleeping there too. "I'll start cooking dinner, we should let them both rest," his mother suggested. Shu's father placed Shu down on the bed and tucked him in beside Aichi.

"I wonder what in the world they were doing to be so exhausted," his father wondered. He began walking to the door.

"Shu… thank you… for everything…" Aichi muttered in his sleep. Shu's father smiled before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"We still can't find that boy's parents. If they were anywhere outside of Japan, why would their son be all alone here?" Shu's mother asked while chopping some vegetables.

"Maybe they passed away," Shu's father guessed holding his chin.

"Should we adopt him?" Shu's mother asked.

"We can't if there is a chance he has a family out there. We should just wait until we ask Shu about this," Shu's father responded.

* * *

Late in the night, Shu began to wake up. "I'm in bed…?" He asked himself. He turned and saw Aichi still asleep beside him. Spriggan and Blaster Blade were glowing in Aichi's hands. Shu got up and stretched. He turned to Aichi and saw Blaster Blade and Spriggan's glow dim slowly until they weren't glowing anymore.

That was when Aichi opened his eyes. "Shu…" Aichi muttered.

Shu smiled. "Are you feeling better?" He asked.

Aichi smiled and nodded weakly. "I'm feeling a lot better because you saved me again… thank you, Shu," he thanked.

"Aren't you going to get up?" Shu asked.

Aichi looked away. "I'll just lay here for now. There's nothing wrong," he responded.

Shu looked at him seriously. "If nothing is wrong you should be able to get up," he said. Aichi bit his lip in nervousness. "Does anything hurt?" Shu asked.

Aichi stayed quiet for a little while before answering. "My body feels numb… but Blaster Blade says that I will be okay once my body gets used to it," he explained. "Blaster Blade told me that before my body was in so much pain… but now it's so relieved from the pressure that I can't even move. It was a real shock to my body," he added.

Shu leaned forward and ruffled his hair playfully. "I'll put something together for your dinner. You must be hungry," Shu said while walking towards the door. "I'll be right back. Sit tight," he informed before leaving his room.

He walked outside and found that his parents' shoes were still on the rack of the doorway. He looked at the table and saw a note.

 _I made dinner for you two. It's in the fridge, so eat it when you get up. -Mom_

Shu smiled and walked to the other bedroom. He opened the door to see that his parents were sleeping in the bed together. He quietly closed the door again before walking into the kitchen area to get the food and microwave it.

He soon returned to Aichi who was still laying there. "Are you feeling any better?" Shu asked. He placed the plates on the table beside Aichi.

"I'm feeling stronger," Aichi responded. He looked at Shu and smiled while slowly pulling out his hand from under the blanket.

"That's good," Shu responded. "Here I'll help you get up," he said before pulling Aichi up into a sitting position.

"Shu…?" Aichi said.

"What is it?" Shu asked.

"You didn't eat yet…?" Aichi asked looking at the second plate on the table.

"My parents came back before I began cooking. They told me to get some rest and that they would do the cooking," Shu explained.

"Really…? That's really nice…" Aichi responded happily. "I need to thank them… for everything they've done for me…" he added.

"They are just doing what any normal person would do if their son found a little kid with amnesia on the streets," Shu responded with a giggle. He looked up at Aichi and saw that he was smiling but tears were in his eyes.

"I don't know what I would've done if you didn't find me that day," Aichi cried.

"Don't think of the past anymore. You need more rest, hurry and eat. We're going on a overnight trip tomorrow," Shu informed. Aichi nodded and began eating.

"It tastes really good… no wonder you're such a good cook…" Aichi commented. After he finished eating, he fell asleep again. Shu ate too before walking to the kitchen to wash the dishes. He heard a door opened and saw that is father walked outside.

"Dad, did I wake you up?" Shu asked.

"No, I got up to get some water," Shu's father answered. Shu began washing the dishes and his father wanted to ask him about Aichi. "I know you know more about that boy than anyone. If you know anything about that boy's personal life, please tell me, Shu," his dad said.

"It's really complicated," Shu responded.

"Complicated? Complicated how?" His dad asked.

"His parents aren't here," Shu answered. "I don't want to tell you anymore unless he wants to share it with anyone else," he said.

"I see… this must be hard for such a young boy," his father responded.

"Oh! Aichi and I will be going to a training camp with the BeyClub tomorrow morning, so we'll be staying over at a team member's cottage," Shu explained.

"That is good. Your mother and I have to leave on another business trip again soon. But for now, it looks like we will be staying for a while," his dad informed.

"That's great. We can catch up once we get back from the training trip," Shu responded.

"Shu, where have you been sleeping? Our room looked untouched since the time we left," his dad asked.

"I was sleeping on the couch. I wanted to be close to Aichi in case something happened," Shu answered.

"You really do care for that boy. What do you think about us adopting him?" His father asked.

"Dad, he does have a family out there. We can't adopt him," Shu informed with a smile. His father was starting to understand Aichi's situation, but he didn't know the details.

"I see. For the next few days, we will be here to help take care of him so that you can focus on the National Tournament," his father explained.

"Thank you, dad," Shu thanked. "I'll go back to my room now. Aichi said that he has been getting a lot nightmares lately," he informed before walking towards his room. Shu quietly and gently slipped into bed, Aichi was shuffling in his sleep.

"No…! Let me go…!" Aichi cried in his sleep. Shu turned and wrapped his arms around Aichi to comfort him. Aichi's restless sleep and nightmares stopped almost instantaneously.

Inside Aichi's mind, he was standing before his unconscious older self. Blaster Blade appeared standing beside his older spirit. "Blaster Blade…" he greeted.

"My Vanguard… allow me to explain everything," Blaster Blade requested. Aichi nodded. "You first have to understand that you do not originate in the world that you found yourself in. You come from a world that is constantly threatened by a evil being. I'm sure you are aware of their name… the Void," Blaster Blade began.

"The Void…?" Aichi responded.

"Yes. In the world we belong in, there is a popular card game named CardFight! Vanguard. Through this card game, humans on Earth can communicate with beings of a far off planet named Planet Cray. I am one of the units residing in Planet Cray and he and I created a strong bond with each other through card fights. Your ability to hear Beyblades' voices is actually an ability that he was given by Takuto Tatsunagi," Blaster Blade continued.

Aichi shivered. "Takuto?" He gulped.

Blaster Blade turned to the older Aichi and his body began glowing a bright blue aura as images of his memories began to appear. "Yes. Takuto Tatsunagi is a kind and faithful ally of Cray. The Takuto Tatsunagi you met was controlled by one of Void's agents named Link Joker. That began Link Joker's invasion causing many card fighters to turn evil," Blaster Blade explained. Images of Reversed fighters and Takuto appeared.

Aichi looked scared even looking at the memories. "How did he get through it…?" Aichi asked.

"Similar to you, he has strong resolve. When faced with despair and impossible odds, he never gives up. He was able to defeat Link Joker and save the world, but he wasn't able to escape. He was pulled into Link Joker's portal," Blaster Blade answered.

"He must have people that are waiting for him to get back…" Aichi said sadly.

"My Vanguard voluntarily stayed behind to allow you to stay with Shu Kurenai until you are ready to leave," Blaster Blade responded. "He will stay as long as you want to stay," he said.

"Really? But what if I want to stay forever?" Aichi asked.

"He will stay here sealed inside of you forever. He will not make you leave Shu Kurenai's side," Blaster Blade answered.

Aichi walked towards the older spirit and touch the seal around him. "Why would he do that for me?" He asked.

"My Vanguard, he only wanted you to be happy," Blaster Blade answered. Aichi's surroundings began to blur into darkness. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in Shu's bed. Shu was still asleep beside him with arms wrapped around Aichi. Aichi was holding Spriggan and Blaster Blade close to his chest.

"Shu…" Aichi muttered with a smile. He moved slightly closer to Shu and looked at him. After a while, he closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

Early in the morning as usual, Shu woke up quite early. He slowly and gently released his arms around Aichi and got out of bed. Aichi was sleeping soundly like he hadn't slept for days. " _He must still feel exhausted. I don't think he should go to school,"_ Shu thought. He saw Spriggan and Blaster Blade in Aichi's small hands. He noticed that they were both emitting a light.

"Protect Aichi for me while I'm gone, Spriggan," Shu ordered with a smile before leaving the room. His mom was also awake. She was sitting in the living room. "Good morning," he greeted.

"Good morning, Shu. How is Aichi feeling?" His mom asked.

"He should be fine. He just looks a little tired today, so I thought that he shouldn't go to school," Shu answered.

"Oh my, is he feeling sick?" She asked.

"He should be alright after a day of rest," Shu answered.

"I'll make some rice gruel for him," she said.

"Thank you, mom," Shu thanked. He peeked inside his parent's room. "Where is dad?" He asked.

"He had to leave early today to get to a board meeting. You know how deeply your father gets invested in work," she explained.

"Yeah, I know," Shu responded with a laugh. He turned back to his room.

"I'll take good care of Aichi while you are at school. You don't have to worry about him," she assured.

"Okay, I'll leave Spriggan with him," Shu said.

"Why would you leave your Beyblade with him?" She asked.

"I know that Aichi feels safer around Spriggan. Also, he likes to talk to Spriggan," Shu explained happily.

"Talk to Spriggan…?" His mother asked with a giggle. She thought that Shu was joking about that.

"I'm going on my jog. I'll be back soon," Shu informed before doing to the washroom to change. Shu's mother opened the door to Shu's room, the room was clean as she expected from her son. She walked over to Aichi and put her hand on his forehead. He didn't feel warm, but he did look exhausted.

"Shu…" Aichi muttered in his sleep. His voice sounded soft and happy. Shu's mom smiled before pulling the blanket over Aichi's upper body and leaving the room.

When Shu went to school, Shu's mom walked inside the room with rice gruel on a try. Aichi was still asleep. "Aichi, wake up. You should eat something," she said placing the tray on the table beside the bed. Aichi stayed fast asleep. "Aichi," she called again. This time, Aichi slowly opened his eyes. He realized that Shu wasn't beside him anymore and suddenly began hyperventilating.

Shu's mom noticed Aichi's fear immediately and pulled Aichi into an embrace. "Shh… it's okay. You're safe. It's alright," she repeated in a calming voice. Aichi's breathing soon turned back to normal.

When she thought that Aichi had calm down, she released her embrace slowly and looked at Aichi eye to eye. "Thank you…" Aichi thanked with a shaky voice.

She patted Aichi's head with her hand. "Tell me what Shu means to you," she requested.

Aichi smiled warmly and he wasn't shaking anymore. "Shu took me in when I was sitting outside of the building. I didn't know why, but I felt drawn to here. At the time, I had run away from a scary person and I was scared about what would happen if they managed to catch me. Shu gave me a home and he showed me kindness… Shu means the world to me," Aichi explained softly.

Shu's mom smiled and picked up the bowl of rice gruel. "I am happy to hear that," she responded happily. After eating, Aichi simply fell back asleep.

* * *

When Shu came back, he found that the main room was empty. "I'm home!" Shu announced. He walked inside his room and saw that Aichi was asleep and his mom was stroking his head lovingly, like a mother.

Shu's mom put a finger in front of her mouth as she stopped her hand movement. She stood up from her seat and took Shu outside of his room. "He just fell asleep again. Whenever he wakes up, he gets frightened and sometimes he wakes up from terrible nightmares and scream. But when I talk to him about you, he calms down quickly," she explained.

"He has been through a lot," Shu informed.

"I'll start cooking dinner. Your father says that he was going to be home earlier today," Shu's mom informed as she put on her apron.

"I can cook if you want me to," Shu responded.

"I know how busy you have been and I know how much you enjoy training," she said insisting to cook.

"Aichi's holding onto Spriggan, so there isn't much I can do to practice," Shu informed scratching his head.

"Then study. I heard that your marks have been dropping," she ordered in a motherly tone. Shu was a little surprised of how she found out. He then walked to the kitchen table with his bag and worked on the table.

After a few minutes had passed, they suddenly heard Aichi's scream. "No!" Aichi cried loudly. He was screaming with a high pitched voice. Shu's mom was about to run to the room, but Shu got up first.

"I'll go," Shu informed before running to his room. He ran inside to see that Aichi had his small hands covering his ears. Blaster Blade and Spriggan were on the table beside the bed. Aichi's eyes were closed shut and he was shaking.

Shu ran over to Aichi. When he touched Aichi, he began kicking and screaming louder. Aichi kicked Shu as he got closer. "Aichi! It's alright! Calm down, I'm here," Shu informed with a soothing voice. "Open your eyes. It's me, Shu. I'm here."

Aichi's screams died down and he slowly opened his eyes. "Shu…?" He muttered.

"I'm here," Shu repeated with a soft smile. Aichi looked at him relieved and hugged him. "What's wrong?" Shu asked.

"I'm so happy you're okay," Aichi answered crying tears of joy. "I'm sorry for kicking you, Shu," he apologized.

"It's okay. It doesn't matter. It didn't hurt, I feel as good as always," Shu assured while patting Aichi's head. He waited for Aichi to calm down before releasing his arms. "Are you feeling strong enough to get out of bed?" Shu asked when Aichi calmed down enough.

Aichi nodded while wiping his tears. "Thank you for saving me from Void," he thanked.

"I didn't do anything. Kai did everything; he planned everything and he won the battle," Shu explained.

"But you were there to make me feel hopeful again," Aichi responded. "So thank you," he added happily.

"Aichi, what kind of nightmares have you been having?" Shu asked.

"Um…" Aichi muttered nervously. "I saw you, but you were different. You weren't your usual nice self. You had a cold look in your eye and you were scary. You were battling people and you destroyed all of their precious Beyblade without any remorse… it scared me," he explained sadly.

"That won't happen, I promise," Shu assured.

"Really?" Aichi asked with a glow in his eyes.

"I do," Shu answered confidently.

Aichi was so overwhelmed with relief that he burst into tears and hugged Shu tightly. "I'm so relieved…!" He cried before Shu could ask him what was wrong.

"We'll be going to Wakiya's villa tomorrow morning, so we should get ready tonight," Shu informed. Aichi pulled away and sat up.

* * *

The next day, Aichi and Shu woke up early in the morning. Shu's dad woke up even earlier than them and had already went to work. They both had packed their school bags with essentials and were planning on only carrying those around. The entire club had agreed to meet up at the train station at 9:00 AM.

"We're going, mom!" Shu informed. Shu's mom ran into the living room from her bedroom. She was folding some clothes inside her room.

She put her hand on Shu's shoulder while patting Aichi's head lightly. "Did you pack everything you need?" She asked worriedly.

"We have everything," Shu assured.

"How could you fit everything in such a small bag? I'll get you a bigger one," Shu's mom said as she was about to go look for a bigger bag.

"We have everything, we don't need a bigger one," Shu assured sounding embarassed. He took Aichi's hand and began walking towards the door. "Mom, we'll be late if we don't go now," Shu informed.

Shu's mom turned to see that Shu and Aichi were already at the doorway. She walked to the doorway to see them out. "Be careful. Make sure you eat enough and take care of each other," she said.

"We will," Shu responded.

"Make sure to stay close to Shu, okay Aichi?" Shu's mom said while spuating down to Aichi's height.

"I will," Aichi responded happy with a nod.

"Bye mom," Shu said.

"Bye," Aichi followed shyly.

"Be safe!" Shu's mom repeated. Aichi held onto Shu's hand as they walked down the hallway and towards the elevator.

* * *

 **Happy Birthday, Aichi!**

 **It is Aichi's birthday and it is tradition at this point for me to post something new. This is an extra chapter for Vanguard Burst. After last chapter, nothing new is going to be added to the story. I'll probably just follow the format of Beyblade Burst until I reach Beyblade Burst God. I have not written chapter 11 yet, but I thought that I might as well release this on Aichi's birthday.**

 **In another note, I am about to finish a story that merges Vanguard with Winx Club. I found it an interesting experience writing that story because adding new events doesn't feel unnatural. I might get out that story by August.**

 **Anyways, thank you for dealing with the messy uploads of this story. I will get Beyblade Burst God's story out when I actually get to writing it (oops). I hope all of you can wait for the chapters and thank you for all the support from last chapter. I really do appreciate it! ^^**


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